


The Boyfriend Trap

by roe87



Series: Logan/Bucky [7]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Arguing, Beefy Bucky Barnes, Bottom Bucky Barnes, Club Owner Logan, Dating, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Flirting, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Laura is 8, Light Angst, M/M, Making Up, Mud Wrestler Bucky, Mutual Pining, Picnics, Pining, Post-Divorce, Romantic Fluff, Secret Relationship, Single Dad Logan, Smut, Stripper Bucky Barnes, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 22:25:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15872943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/pseuds/roe87
Summary: Bucky, a male stripper, has been seeing his boss, club owner Logan, for a while now. Bucky wants a more committed relationship, but Logan is dragging his heels about introducing Bucky to his daughter, Laura.Meanwhile Laura has had enough waiting around to meet her dad's not-so-secret boyfriend, and devises a plan to get them together.~Or, Logan and Bucky are both outwitted by an eight year old.





	1. At Work

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm back with Stripper Bucky! And also more Logan/Bucky :D
> 
> Btw, Laura is about 8 yrs old in this. 
> 
> And the age difference between Logan and Bucky is about 10 years, not a whole lot. (Bucky late 20s, Logan late 30s)
> 
> I figured both Laura and Logan deserve some happy fluff times, so I gave them Bucky <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story!
> 
> ~
> 
> Thank you [frostbitebakery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostbitebakery/works) and [NachoDiablo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoDiablo/pseuds/NachoDiablo/works?fandom_id=414093) for your help with this!
> 
> ~

 

_Saturday_

 

 

It was 3AM on Saturday night. Logan was in the club's office, doing the cashing up. He didn't often close on weekend's, he left that to the assistant manager, but she was on leave, so Logan had to do it tonight.

Clearly the staff had gotten used to the assistant manager being slack, as three staff members hadn't closed out their bar tabs yet. Logan looked to the side of his desk at the security cam screens. The dressing room still had people in it, changing into their sweats before they went home.

He only saw one of the three people he needed, and wasn't it just his luck that the one person was Bucky.

Logan huffed to himself, and sent a quick text to Bucky: _Office. Now._

Then he got back to the cashing up. It'd been a busy night. Luckily a lot of bachelorette parties had come in and spent a lot of money.

When there was a knock on the office door, Logan didn't bother looking up from his counting.

"'S open," he called.

The person who came in shut and locked the door after them, so Logan knew it was Bucky before he even glanced up.

And did a double take when he saw Bucky standing there in a pair of tight, glittery booty shorts, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Not that Logan needed to imagine what was in there, he already knew: he'd seen Bucky naked and had sex with him plenty of times. But still, he did look amazing.

Bucky stood there, and flexed his chest muscles to make his large pecs bounce, drawing Logan's eyes up.

The little shit was grinning too.

"Thought you'd gotten dressed," Logan said. He could've sworn Bucky had been in pants when he'd looked at the security cam.

"I did," Bucky said with a smirk. "Then I got your message."

Oh, Logan thought. Bucky thought he'd sent him a booty text.

"You, um," he tried to say, distracted by Bucky's fit, ripped body on display. "You need to close your tab."

"Don't panic, I got it right here." Bucky began to walk very slowly around the desk, trailing his index finger along the edge of it. He kept his eyes on Logan, and Logan could only watch as Bucky purposely strutted closer, pouting his lips invitingly.

And then he sat his ass on Logan's desk before Logan could rescue his books and neat stacks of money.

"Here." Bucky bent one leg up, the toe of his boot perching on the edge of Logan's chair.

Logan's eyes dropped to the thick, muscled thigh in front of him, then he noticed the garter band just above Bucky's knee, stuffed full of dollar bills.

"Thanks," Logan said dryly. "You couldn't swap these smaller bills out earlier?"

Bucky grinned. "But this is more fun."

"Not when I'm running late." Logan quickly scooped out the bills from Bucky's garter. "And your ass is on my cashing up."

Bucky rolled his head back and grunted in annoyance. "How much longer?"

"I don't know. Maybe twenty minutes if you don't interrupt."

"Fine." Bucky got up and stomped back around the desk. He plopped down into the spare office chair and put his feet up on a crate of beer bottles.

Logan tried to ignore him for the moment, and finish the cashing up.

Ignoring Bucky wasn't all the easy: he had a knack for making his presence felt. After barely thirty seconds of quietly twirling side to side in the chair, Bucky pulled out a lollipop from God only knew where, and rustled with the wrapper to open it.

Logan kept working.

Then Bucky stuck the lollipop in his mouth and started sucking on it noisily.

Slurp, slurp.

Logan tried to focus, just a few more piles of cash to get through and then he had to float the tills for tomorrow.

Slurp, suck, suck, slurp.

Logan frowned as he glanced up, which was probably a bad idea because his eyes instantly went to Bucky's mouth as he worked that lollipop in and out, sucking on it obscenely. Logan's mind very helpfully provided memories of Bucky sucking him off, his lips swollen and his long hair all messy as he bobbed up and down on Logan's hard cock, making eye contact and happy groans.

Logan's dick stirred with want. He tried to ignore it, he was pretty good at ignoring his needs when he had to. Having worked in strip joints so long helped with that, but tonight it was no good.

Bucky hummed softly as he sucked on his lollipop, and that one little sound did more for Logan than anything else, made him flash back to fucking in bed and all the soft breathy moans Bucky would make.

Logan looked up, saw Bucky watching him and smile around the lollipop. He pulled it from his lips with a wet pop.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Logan flicked his pen to the desk in resignation, and pushed his chair back. He spread his legs a bit and raised his eyebrows at Bucky to signal him over.

Bucky got up and came to stand right in front of Logan. The outline of his cock was showing in his shorts: definitely hard.

Logan palmed his own cock through his pants, watching as Bucky stuck the lollipop back in his mouth, twisting the stick to the side.

"Hey, handsome," he purred.

Logan felt his mouth tug into an answering smile, only to fall away as Bucky walked around his chair instead of sitting in Logan's lap like he'd expected. He stayed still though. He had patience, and he liked to be played with a little.

Bucky circled the chair slowly, fingertips dragging lightly over Logan's shoulders and tickling inside the open collar of his shirt.

"What's a handsome guy like you doing in a dive like this?" Bucky said, still talking around that lollipop in his mouth.

"I ask myself that same question," Logan said, and caught Bucky's hand as he circled around. "C'mere."

Bucky resisted, staying where he was because he was a damn tease. He reached up with his free hand to pull out the lollipop with a wet slurp, grinning knowingly. "Why? You want something?"

Logan growled, and tugged on Bucky's hand again. This time he came, and Bucky wasn't some little twink to be pushed around either: he was thick and solid, a well built guy who also did mud wrestling for work.

Luckily, Logan had been a wrestler too, and he knew how to handle Bucky. He pulled Bucky into his lap, grabbed the lollipop and tossed it over his shoulder. It fell in the empty trash can with a clang.

Bucky mock gasped. "What a brute," he teased, straddling Logan's lap and winding his arms around Logan's neck. "I'm tellin' the manager about you."

Logan smiled at that. It was a running joke between them.

"Oh, yeah? And what'll he do?"

"Mmmm." Bucky rocked his hips, grinding himself into Logan's erection. "Well, I was hoping he'd take me home tonight and fuck me. Show me who's boss."

Logan exhaled shakily. Bucky's dirty talk always got to him. He wound his arms around Bucky, hands cupping his full, firm ass.

Bucky had a great ass.

Logan pulled him closer, angled his face to catch Bucky's mouth and kiss him. Bucky kissed back, licking into Logan's mouth. Logan groaned, fingers digging into the meat of Bucky's ass, squeezing as Bucky rocked his hips, grinding them together as they made out.

"Mm," Logan growled against Bucky's lips. "Keep that up and I'll fuck you right here."

"We can do that too," Bucky promised. "Give me a preview before you take me home."

Logan growled again, then his brain reminded him that tonight was no good. He pulled back, trying to clear his head enough to think. "Wait, wait," he rasped. "I gotta get up tomorrow."

Bucky paused, and leaned back to look at him. "What time?"

"Um..." Logan tried to think, to plan a timetable. "I'd need to leave by eleven."

"So?" Bucky shrugged a shoulder. "I can let myself out later."

Panic buzzed in Logan's gut. "No, we can't do that. I've got my daughter."

"Oh," Bucky said, mildly surprised for a moment. Then he shrugged again. "So, I'll leave at eleven too."

Logan was beginning to feel awkward, and it killed his boner. "I can't, Bucky. Not tonight. I need to sleep when I get home. I'll be lucky to get five hours by the time I get into bed." He moved, shifting in his chair, and Bucky took the hint to get up. He stood in front of Logan, looking awkward now.

"Uh," he said, biting his lip. "Well... when are you free after that?"

"I've got Laura for three and a half weeks. That's why when Kitty gets back, she'll be taking most of my night shifts."

Bucky's eyes widened slightly. "But I'll see you during that time, right?"

"I don't know," Logan said, looking away. "This got sprung on me last minute, Bucky. I haven't had a chance to figure anything out. I'm gonna be real busy."

"Too busy to see me?" Bucky said, his voice clipped. "Is that what you're saying?"

"No, I'm not saying that..." Logan looked at him, winced slightly when he saw Bucky was beginning to look mad. "I'm saying, I haven't figured anything out yet."

Bucky frowned, and set his jaw. "Seems simple enough to me. You could use this opportunity to, like, introduce us. Invite me for dinner. I can help look after her, or cook if you need a hand."

Logan felt alarmed, and backed into a corner. This was _not_ a discussion he'd prepared for, especially at 3AM.

"That's, I... yeah, but I haven't talked to Laura yet, Bucky. Maybe another time. She has schoolwork to do–-"

"You don't want her to meet me, do you?" Bucky accused, hurt flashing in his eyes.

Okay, Logan's boner had definitely gone for good now.

"No," he placated, moving to stand up. "It's not that at all." He went to touch Bucky's shoulder, but Bucky shrugged him off, giving him the stink eye. Logan sighed. "Buck, come on. You know how much you mean to me, but Laura's a kid. She's only eight, and she hasn't met anybody since the divorce. This would be a huge deal."

"You've been divorced since forever!" Bucky snapped. "You're the one making this a huge deal. I just want to spend more time with you, but you're blocking me at every turn."

"What? No, I don't."

"You _do_ ," Bucky said quietly, then he stomped over to the door. He tried to open it, clearly forgetting it was locked before he tugged and tugged, then finally unlocked it before he was able to storm out.

Logan stood there frozen, his heart hammering.

Shit, he thought. Things had sure taken a one-eighty fast.

Relationships never got easier.

He almost went back to his work; the cashing up wouldn't cash itself. Then it sunk in: _relationship_.

However unwittingly, he'd stumbled into a relationship when his friends-with-benefits deal with Bucky had become more serious the past year.

They hadn't talked much, but it'd been in the air. Logan didn't want to lose Bucky, but he didn't want to upset his daughter either.

He had no idea how to mesh those two parts of his life together.

Checking the security cam to see where Bucky was, Logan left his office, and locked the door behind him. He walked down the hall to the main changing room.

Bucky was there, now dressed in sweats and tapping away on his phone. He gave Logan a glare when he came in and lingered in the open doorway.

"Look, Bucky. I'm sorry, alright. Things have just been a bit busy, that's all. I'm not purposely trying to shut you out."

Bucky lost his glare, but looked fed up as he yanked on his jacket silently.

Logan waited, but Bucky didn't reply. "I'm not a mind reader," he prompted. "You wanna talk, then talk."

He knew Bucky wouldn't be able to resist a direct challenge, and felt a little smug when Bucky proved his point by replying, "Fine." He took a deep breath, then asked, "Are you ever planning to introduce us?"

"I guess I haven't thought about it," Logan admitted. Bucky looked hurt at that, so he quickly amended, "That doesn't mean I can't think about it now. I didn't know you wanted to."

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Bucky said incredulously.

Logan shrugged. "Wasn't sure kids were your thing."

"It's not about kids," Bucky said, huffing in frustration, "it's about being in your life, Logan. I just... I feel like we've been stuck on the same page for a while now. I want to know you're going to include me in what you're doing."

"Okay," Logan muttered, feeling awkward and bad. "I mean, I didn't know you wanted that."

"I've been dropping hints," Bucky told him. "I literally told you twice that my lease is coming up soon, and you didn't say anything about us moving in together."

"Uh..." Logan's head started to spin. "I'm not great with hints. Wait, you want to live together? But–-"

"Not now, I don't," Bucky grumbled, and grabbed his bag. "Not if you're going to pretend I don't exist for a whole month because you don't want your daughter to meet me. You can kiss my ass."

He made to leave the room, but Logan stopped him gently. "Hey, hey. Just calm down a minute. I didn't say that. Let's talk about it."

"I can't now, my Uber's here." Bucky looked at him, his eyes big and sad. "Just... you're gonna have to change something, Logan. I need more than sex, I need to feel like you want me around."

"Okay," Logan agreed. "I promise we'll talk about it. We'll work something out."

"Fine. But don't keep me waiting," Bucky said, then he left.

Logan sighed to himself once he was alone, and rubbed his hands down his face.

And now he had to go finish the cashing up before going home.

 


	2. At Home

_Wednesday_

 

 

 

"Who's Bucky?" Laura asked.

Logan coughed into his glass, trying not to choke on the orange juice he'd been drinking. He looked around to where Laura was sitting at the table, homework all spread out. His cell phone was there too, screen up on the table, and Logan cursed his own stupidity.

"What?" he said, acting nonchalant as he wiped OJ off his chin.

Laura gestured at the phone with her pencil. "It's lit up three times with the name Bucky." She looked around at him and frowned. "What sort of name is Bucky?"

"It's a nickname," Logan said, feeling his face heat up. "And he's someone daddy works with." He swooped in and grabbed his phone. "You finish your homework and I'll get started on dinner in a minute."

Laura was quiet, watching him closely. Logan felt his flush intensify under her gaze, then thankfully she changed the subject.

"Can we have pasta?" she asked.

"Sure," he agreed with relief.

When Laura turned back to her homework, wriggling excitedly at the prospect of food, Logan opened his phone's lock screen to read his messages.

 

Bucky 4:13

_Hey_

 

Bucky 4:25

_I miss you. Can we talk?_

 

Bucky 4:41

_Call me when you can_

 

Logan sighed inwardly. He'd better try get this straightened out.

"I just gotta make a phone call," Logan told Laura. "Then dinner."

"Okay," she said absently, doing sums in her book.

She was a good kid. Logan smiled, then headed to his bedroom so he could call Bucky.

 

 

 

Laura was feeling nosey.

Her dad was great, but he could be so secretive and squirely about things.

She quietly left the table and tip-toed through the apartment, right up to her dad's bedroom door. She put her ear close, and listened.

"Yeah, of course I want to see you," her dad was in the middle of saying. "Well, no... You gotta give me a chance here, Bucky..."

From the sound of footsteps inside the room, Laura figured her dad was pacing around, which made it hard to pick out every word he said, but she got some of them.

It sounded like he was placating the other person, using his patient and quiet tone of voice.

Laura wondered what it was about, if this Bucky person was from work. Her dad was the boss, so why would he be placating anyone? Any time Laura had heard her dad talk to work people on the phone, he used his gruff and clipped voice, giving them instructions. He never spoke like _this_. Now he was speaking like...

Laura frowned, trying to place the tone. It almost reminded her of a mommy and daddy talk, when they'd tried to keep quiet and talk about something in another room so Laura wouldn't overhear.

But her parents were divorced now, and her mom had a boyfriend who was very nice.

It was kind of sad that her dad always seemed to be on his own. He needed someone nice too.

Laura listened, heard him say, "I promise I'll talk to her. Of course I want you to be involved, Buck, but you gotta give me a chance to tell her. There hasn't been anyone since her mom, okay? This is a big deal..."

Laura's breath caught as her eyes widened. Was he talking about _her?_ He had to be. So, did that mean...?

Laura grinned to herself.

Her dad had found someone. _Finally_.

 

 

 

 

"You're quiet tonight," Logan said during dinner.

Laura had her thinking face on, but she'd finished all her homework already. "Everything alright?"

Laura smiled, and nodded. She took another bite out of her ravioli. "This is a good dinner, Dad."

"Great." Logan smiled. "But don't talk while you're chewing, you could choke."

Laura nodded, and swallowed her mouthful before she said, "Okay. Dad, can we have a picnic in the park?"

"Yeah, I guess so. When?"

"Soon?"

"Sunday?" Logan suggested. "Weather's going to be good."

"Yeah!" Laura smiled happily.

"Okay, then. We'll have a picnic on Sunday."

 

 

~

 

 

Bucky had only spoken to Logan three hours ago, so when his phone flashed with an incoming call from him, Bucky was surprised.

Pleasantly surprised.

He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear with one hand, and continued to spoon his yogurt into a bowl with his other. "Hey, handsome. How was dinner?"

Silence.

Bucky paused to check his phone screen, making sure the call was still connected, then put it back to his ear. "Hello?"

Still nothing, only the muted sounds of a TV or something on in the background.

Bucky huffed in annoyance. "Logan," he said, louder, "did you butt dial me or something? How does that even happen with a lockscreen anyway?"

A giggle came in response, making Bucky jump in surprise and knock over his yogurt bowl.

_A girl?_

"Who is this?" he demanded.

"Laura," the voice said, sounding awfully young.

Bucky was confused for a moment, then put two and two together. "Laura? As in, Logan's daughter, Laura?"

"Yeah," she said, smile clear in her voice.

Bucky didn't know what to say. Was Logan behind this? What was going on?

"Uh... okay," he said. "Where's your dad, Laura?"

"He's in the shower."

Bucky eyebrows hiked up to his hairline. "He's in the shower? Are you supposed to be on his phone right now?"

Laura giggled in reply, which Bucky took for a solid no.

"He probably won't like it if you're on his phone, Laura," Bucky said gently.

"Are you his boyfriend?" she asked suddenly.

Bucky's mouth dropped open, but no sound came out.

"He talks to you a lot," Laura pointed out.

"He does?" Bucky found himself saying.

"Mm hm," Laura said. "And he uses his soft voice with you. He's not all grumpy like normal."

Bucky laughed in surprise. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, but I mean, he's not grumpy all the time," Laura said blithely. "He's nice to me. But I hear him on the phone and he's usually so, _grr_!" she growled, clearly trying to imitate Logan. "Do this! Do that! Grr!" She snorted a giggle. "Then with you he's all, _nice_."

Bucky was so taken aback, he started to blush. "Uh," he said. "Well, we've been friends for a while. So he is nice to me, I guess."

"Oh," Laura sounded disappointed. "I thought you were boyfriends?"

"Maybe you should ask your dad about that," Bucky said, feeling unsure.

"I did!" she replied, excited again. "And I'm calling to invite you to our picnic! It's on Sunday in Central Park. We'll be at the pretzel stand on the south west corner at midday. Will you come?"

"Uh..." Bucky felt too shocked to make a decision. Logan had only just told him earlier that he'd talk to Laura about them. Was this the outcome of that? Why wasn't Logan calling himself?

"Please!" Laura whined when he didn't reply. "I really want you to come!"

"Okay, okay," he said gently. "Does your dad want me there? Are you sure?"

"You're his boyfriend, right?" she countered.

Bucky swallowed, and said, "Yes."

"Then you gotta come!" Laura told him. "Midday at the pretzel stand. Don't be late! Bye!"

Then she hung up.

Bucky was left wondering what to do. If Logan was in the shower, there wasn't any point calling back right now, as Laura could answer the phone again.

What a cheeky kid, Bucky thought, as he smiled to himself and cleaned up the yogurt mess he'd made.

It would be cool to meet her at last.

But what would Logan say? What if he didn't know about Laura using his phone to invite Bucky?

No, surely he'd talked to Laura, Bucky thought. Maybe she'd just jumped the gun and told Bucky what Logan would've told him later.

Yeah, that had to be it.

Besides, if they really were going to a picnic and Logan _hadn't_ thought to invite Bucky, then it'd serve him right if Bucky did just show up.

Maybe he'd do that, just show up and see what happened.

He didn't want to disappoint Laura, after all.

 

 

 

~

 

_Sunday_

 

 

 

Logan had taken Laura for grocery shopping the day before their picnic, and they'd prepped some food: chopped fruit in cups, and some yogurt and granola for dessert. They'd also cooked chipolatas and mini sausage rolls, and let them cool before putting them all into Tupperware and in the refrigerator.

Sunday morning, Laura was up bright and early (much to Logan's dismay on his day off) because she wanted to organise the picnic hamper.

Logan came into he kitchen yawning, and put the coffee on. He saw that Laura had already made several sets of sandwiches and cut them up into squares.

"You watch that knife," he warned sleepily.

Laura hmmed, busy concentrating. "You know any vegetarians, Dad?"

"Uh... no?" Logan got his mug and creamer ready, frowning in thought. "Why?"

Laura shrugged, and went on making sandwiches. "No reason."

She got all the food, enough to feed a small army, ready on the table.

Logan drank his coffee and helped her pack the food away, showing her how to conserve on space, and place heavy items at the bottom so as not to squash the soft food.

Laura swatted his hand away eventually, because she wanted to do it, so Logan left her to it, and went off to shower and change.

The weather looked fine but with a cool breeze, so Logan dressed in his usual jeans, boots, flannel shirt and a jacket.

He went and told Laura to get dressed and put a jacket on, and to pick out a blanket from the closet too. Laura skipped off, and Logan ordered the Uber. It would be easier than trying to park near Central on a Sunday.

"I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!" Laura chanted, rushing back in the kitchen and trying to lift the cooler.

"Hold up." Logan stepped in and lifted it for her. "You take the blanket and your bag, and I'll carry this."

"Okay!" She ran back to the lounge, grabbing the blanket and her little backpack.

"Ready?" Logan asked.

"Yeah!"

 

 

When they got to the park, Laura wanted to visit the pretzel stand in the small square.

They already had more than enough food, but Logan was happy to buy a fresh cup of coffee, so they went over to the stand. Logan set down the heavy hamper so he could pay for his coffee, and get a juice box for Laura.

Laura was bouncing up and down at his side, clutching the rolled up blanket to her chest and looking around at the square in excitement.

Logan raised an eyebrow at her show of exuberance, but let her carry on. He pocketed the juice box and his wallet, and picked up his coffee to sip. As he turned around, he noticed someone in his periphery, probably the next customer in line, and he went to move out of the way.

"Hey," the person said, as Logan did a double take.

" _Bucky?_ "

He couldn't believe it. Bucky was here, wearing casual clothes much like Logan's, and with his long hair tied back.

Bucky smiled, tentative, then his gaze dropped to Laura, who squeezed in at Logan's side. She was grinning from ear to ear, but Logan didn't have a chance to do anything before Bucky knelt down to her level.

"And you must be Laura." Bucky offered his hand out.

Laura grabbed onto it, still grinning. "I am!" she declared. "Are you Bucky?"

"That's right." Bucky's smile grew.

Logan watched them interacting right before his eyes, and kind of froze on the spot.

"Daddy!" Laura turned to him. "Bucky should come on our picnic!"

"Uh..." Logan looked between the two of them, sweat pricking his temples. "Well, uh, I'm sure Bucky has things to do, Laura."

She pouted, hard.

"Actually," Bucky said, standing back up, "I've got the afternoon free." He gave Logan a pointed look.

Laura was still pouting.

Clearly, Logan only had one choice here that wouldn't wind up with him in the doghouse twice.

"Um." He cleared his throat. "In that case, Bucky, would you like to join us?"

"I'd love to," Bucky agreed, which had Laura bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Great," Logan said, and smiled at Bucky. "Let's go."

 

 

 


	3. Picnic Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for much for reading and supporting this rare pair fic! I really appreciate it!
> 
>  
> 
> ~

 

They found a spot by one of the smaller ponds (Laura's favorite spot) and laid out the blanket to sit on.

There was plenty of other picnic goers, and people just sitting on the grass all around, but thankfully it wasn't too busy yet.

Laura wanted to unpack the hamper, so Logan took the lid off and let her take out the food. She seemed very excited, and thrust a wrapped up sandwich at Bucky before he'd even managed to sit down.

Logan smiled wryly. "Laura, get a plate first. And give him a chance to sit."

Bucky caught his eye, and smiled back. Laura took the plastic plates out, and gave one to Bucky. He smiled at her too.

"Thank you, Laura," he said, and she wriggled in delight.

"I made the sandwiches!" she declared.

"And they look great," Bucky said easily, and unwrapped his sandwich to take a bite.

Laura was still hovering over him, clearly eager to see his reaction. Bucky seemed to realise this, as he gave a very pleased and exaggerated, "Mmm!" for her benefit.

And Logan's mind did _not_ wander off down more sordid paths at that sound and other places he'd like to hear Bucky make the same sound.

Nope. Logan resolutely did not think about that right now.

"It's delicious!" Bucky said, as Laura bounced up and down.

"Laura." Logan reached out and tugged at her backpack, which she still had on. "C'mon and take this off, and sit down."

Laura shrugged off her bag, and dived into the hamper again. "Daddy, what sandwich do you want?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. _Daddy_ only came out when she was very excited, or wanted something. Otherwise it was just plain old Dad.

"Pass me those chipolatas," he said, holding out his hand.

Laura shot him a wounded look. "But I made you a sandwich!"

"I'll have a sandwich too," Logan placated quickly. "Put it on a plate for me."

Laura grinned and went to grab a sandwich from inside the hamper.

Logan sighed lightly, and caught Bucky smirking at him.

He would've told Bucky to quit it, but Laura thrust a plated sandwich under his nose, and Logan made sure to give her a big smile.

"Great, thank you. And the chipolatas," he said. "Just unpack it all and we can choose."

"But eat your sandwich first!" Laura told him, which had Bucky biting his lip trying not to laugh.

Logan said calmly, "I'll eat my sandwich first. Now please unpack the hamper, there's a good kid."

Laura bounced up and down a couple times, then diligently began unpacking all the food.

"Wow, that sure is a lot of food," Bucky mentioned.

Logan put two and two together then, realising Laura must've known Bucky was coming and made all the extra food.

"Hmm," he said.

He'd been had, by his own daughter. Clearly he'd have to stay on his toes as she got older.

The prospect of a teenage Laura was slightly terrifying to him.

"Well," Logan said, reaching for the chipolatas, "help yourselves. I'm having some of these."

"Can I have one?" Bucky asked, reaching over to nab one of the little sausages off Logan's plate. "You know I can't resist your chipolata."

Logan almost choked on his mouthful, as Bucky drew back with a barely concealed grin. He popped the sausage in his mouth, looking at Logan as he did.

"Mmm," he said, eating. "Very good."

Logan glanced at Laura, who was busy eating her own plate of food and smiling at them. He glanced back at Bucky with a look that said, _I'll get you back later._

Bucky grinned wider.

"We made sausage rolls too," Laura piped up, drawing their attention.

"Yeah?" Bucky said, and offered his plate up so Laura could give him some sausage rolls.

"And another sandwich?" she asked him hopefully.

"I can probably eat half," Bucky said. "Want to share it?"

"Okay!" Laura said, and served up the food. "Dad, do you want more?"

Logan shook his head. "Give me a few minutes, and I will. Don't forget your juice box. Oh, and," he added, looking to Bucky, "there's a bottle of water in the hamper."

Bucky smiled at him. "Thanks."

 

They ate peacefully, and despite Logan's nerves at having the meeting unexpectedly land in his lap like it had, he was relieved that Laura and Bucky seemed to get along just fine.

In fact, he barely needed to say anything, as Laura was so excited to have someone new to fawn over. Bucky was good with her, seeming patient and interested in what she said.

Logan sat back for the most part and let them interact, feeling pleased. Laura told Bucky about her school project where she had to draw and list the animals she saw that week. Her workbook was in her bag, and of course that came out so she could thrust that at Bucky to take a look, then she hovered over his shoulder as he looked through it.

"Wow, these are great," Bucky said to her, looking through the pages. "What's this one?"

"A pigeon!" Laura squealed, obviously thrilled. "I lost my grey pen so it's a purple and blue pigeon!"

"Oh, yeah," he said, "I see it. Great work!"

Laura wriggled on the spot, grinning happily.

Logan smiled too, charmed by the scene. "How many more animals you gotta do?" he asked.

"Just the ones I see," Laura said, then turned to him with a pout. "Everyone in my class said they'll go to the zoo, so they're gonna have more animals than me."

Logan raised his eyebrows slightly. "Everyone, huh?"

"Yes, Dad," she said, a whine creeping into her voice. "Can we go to the zoo?"

"What, today?" he said, glancing at the picnic hamper, still pretty full of food. He didn't want to carry that around for hours.

"Please, Dad," she bleated.

Bucky also looked at the hamper, then asked, "Did you drive?"

Logan shook his head. "Nope. Got an Uber here."

"I've got Clint's car," Bucky said, "and I managed to get a spot quite close to here. If you want to put your stuff in the trunk, or anything."

"Uh," Logan said, weighing up the options.

But Laura was already bouncing in excitement. "Can Bucky come too!" she asked, looking pleadingly at him. "Please, Dad! Can we go to the zoo!"

_May as well_ , Logan thought, and ended up saying, "Alright, then, we'll go to the zoo. But say thank you to Bucky for offering his car."

Laura was so excited she pumped her little fists, though she did turn to Bucky and said thank you before rushing off to turn cartwheels on the grass.

"Laura, stay close by," Logan called out.

She was rolling around on the grass now, probably getting grass stains on her jeans. Logan didn't mind, as long as she stayed within sight.

He looked to Bucky. "Thanks. I think you made her day."

"It's cool," Bucky said with a smile. "She's a great kid."

Logan smiled proudly. "Yeah." He watched Laura do a handstand, and walk around upside down on her hands for a few seconds before tumbling down. "She's full of beans today. See how you keep up with her at the zoo."

Bucky laughed at that. "As long as there's coffee on the way, I'll be fine."

"We'll see about that." Logan smirked. People who weren't used to kids thought they were easy to look after, but soon felt worn out.

He got distracted from his thoughts when he felt Bucky's fingers brush against his hand on the blanket. He looked at Bucky, who gave him a shy smile before taking his hand back.

"Thanks for letting me join in."

Logan blinked, and felt a flush rising in his cheeks. "Uh, sure. It's, uh. It's worked out pretty good, right?"

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Yeah," Bucky said. "It has."

 

 

~

 

 

 

They packed up the picnic before 2PM. Logan lamented not being able to doze off on the grass for a while, but Laura was so energetic today he doubted he would've gotten much peace anyway.

Plus, now they had Bucky with them, so going to do something was probably good. Logan could walk off his nervous energy instead of sitting around feeling awkward.

Bucky said he'd take the hamper and the blanket to his car, and he'd meet them by the little pond with the statue.

Logan took Laura to the smaller pond, and told her she could look for more animals while they waited for Bucky. He also took a moment to kneel down and talk to her.

"Laura," he said, making sure she was listening before he went on. "I know you've been very good with Daddy's friend, Bucky, today, but if there's any point you want to go home, just tell me, okay? It won't be a problem."

Laura gave him a little frown of confusion. "Isn't Bucky your boyfriend, Dad?"

"Uh..." Logan cleared his throat. "Yeah."

"Don't you want him to come to the zoo with us?"

"No, of course I do, I just..." Logan fumbled with his words. "I... just want you to know that when you're with me, our time together is important. If you want it to be just us, all you gotta do is tell me, and we'll go home."

"Dad," Laura groaned, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I see you _all_ the time."

Logan huffed a laugh.

There was nothing like being put in place by a kid.

"Uh, right," he said. "So... does that mean everything is okay? You're happy spending the day with Bucky?"

" _Yes_ , Dad," she said, exasperated. "And you should give him a kiss or something when he comes back."

Logan's eyes went wide. "Huh? Why?"

"He kept looking at you when we had the picnic," Laura said, "and shuffling closer to you and looking at you more, and you weren't paying him attention. You should at least give him a hug or hold his hand."

"Uh," Logan managed, flushing pretty hard now. "And... you would be okay with that?"

"Dad, my best friend has two moms," Laura told him matter of factly. "They're really nice and I go round their house a lot. And my second best friend has two dads."

"Oh," Logan said, dealing with this new information. "I see." He got to his feet and patted Laura on the shoulder. "Okay, you, uh, you see what animals you can find while we wait for Bucky."

Laura shrugged off her bag in order to open it for the workbook and pen, but she was eyeing Logan very carefully.

"Don't forget, Dad," she said.

"I won't forget," he promised.

Laura nodded, satisfied with his answer, and set about opening her book to draw.

_Kids_ , Logan thought, raising his eyes skyward.

 

 

Thankfully there were fish in the pond, plus a couple squirrels to keep Laura busy for a few minutes. She noted them down along with their location, and also did quick sketches.

Logan watched over her shoulder, impressed at her skill.

"You do any art classes?" he asked.

Laura nodded, concentrating on her sketch. "Mom sends me to afterschool class."

"Huh." Logan made a face. He hadn't known that. "Shall we get you some paints and stuff you can keep at my place?"

She looked up at him with a happy grin. "Yes, please."

"Okay, I'll get them tomorrow while you're at school."

"Can't I come with you?" she asked. "What if you get the wrong stuff?"

Logan sighed inwardly. "Fine, we'll go after I pick you up from school."

Laura smirked, triumphant.

Once again out maneuvered by his own daughter. Logan smiled to himself. He was kind of impressed.

Laura nudged him in the leg. "Dad, I see Bucky."

"Hm? Oh." Logan looked across the park to see Bucky walking towards them, so he steeled himself and tried to decide what he should do.

They hadn't exactly done P.D.A's or really been out many places together. Not that Logan didn't _want_ to kiss Bucky, it was just a bit awkward in public and with an audience, especially with the audience being his daughter watching eagerly.

It felt a bit like performance anxiety.

Bucky approached them with a cheerful smile. "All set?" he asked.

Logan nodded, and wished he had the courage to lean in and give Bucky a kiss on the lips, or his cheek. Anything.

But he chickened out.

Instead, he reached across with his hand and caught Bucky's fingers. Bucky seemed surprised at first, glancing down at their hands then back up at Logan.

Logan managed a tentative smile, and Bucky visibly relaxed. He tangled his fingers in Logan's, and held his hand.

This felt like a big step forward, and Logan's heart thudded away with excitement. "Alright," he said, voice surprisingly even. "Let's go."

He offered out his other hand to Laura, who'd packed her bag back up already and grabbed onto his hand, tugging on his arm lightly as she bounced along next to him.

"Did you find any animals?" Bucky asked her, making her bounce even harder.

"Yes!" she said, hanging onto Logan's arm. "Squirrels! And fish! And a snail!"

"Yeah, so many animals for free," Logan said dryly, "we don't even need to visit the zoo now."

"Dad!" Laura wailed, tugging on his arm as he chuckled. "Yes, we do!"

"I'm only teasing," he said. "We're going to the zoo."

 

 

 

 


	4. At The Zoo

 

The zoo was busy, but for a Sunday afternoon that was a no brainer. Lots of families, lots of kids.

Logan made sure to tell Laura before they went inside: no running off, no disappearing, and to behave herself. She was pretty well behaved anyway, but it didn't hurt to remind her.

Logan paid for their entry, and they went in. Laura was very excited, and rushed ahead to the first exhibit: the sea lions. Logan had to remind her to stay close, as he and Bucky hurried to catch up to her.

Laura leaned against the barrier with her mouth open in awe at the sea lions in the enclosure. "Dad, look!" she urged, pointing at the animals. "Look!"

"I'm looking," Logan said, coming to stand behind her.

Bucky was right beside him, and threw him an amused smile. Then he leaned down a little to say to Laura, "You gonna draw these guys?"

Laura gasped like she'd just remembered her homework, and scrabbled to get her bag off. "Yes!" she said, getting tangled up with her backpack.

"Hold on," Logan said, helping her take the bag off. "Now, take out the book and pencil you need, then we'll put your bag back on."

Once Laura was set with her workbook (and announced she didn't want to carry her bag, so Logan had to hold it), she started sketching the sea lions lounging in the sun, and copying down facts about them from the information boards.

Bucky read the board too. "Hmm," he said, "did you know that sea lions have external ear flaps?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "I do now."

Bucky laughed, and kept reading. "A California sea lion's primary means of communication is vocalization. Sea lions produce sounds both above and below water."

"Is that why they're making all that noise, then," Logan said.

"During the breeding season," Bucky went on, "male California sea lions bark incessantly when establishing territories. Once established, the males bark only when maintaining and defending their territories." He glanced at Logan with a wicked grin. "Sounds just like humans to me."

Logan smiled back, and hoped Laura wasn't paying them too much attention. She seemed engrossed in her drawing. "Laura," he said, peering over her to see how much she'd done, "when you've finished that, we're going to find the restrooms."

Laura groaned, still scribbling down notes next to her drawing. "Dad, I don't _need_ to go."

"Well, I do," Logan muttered. "And you say you don't now, but you will soon."

Laura huffed, and said dramatically, "Fine."

Bucky turned away with a muffled sound, his shoulders shaking.

Logan frowned at him. "What?" he asked.

Bucky shook his head. He was clearly laughing and trying to hide it.

"Alright, fine," Logan said, but that only made Bucky laugh more. "What's gotten into you?" Logan pressed.

Even Laura looked up at him curiously.

Bucky managed to get himself under control, and wiped his eyes. "Oh, nothing," he said, pressing his lips together to stop from grinning. "Just... something over there. The sea lion. Did something funny."

"If you say so," Logan said dryly.

Laura finished her page about sea lions, and after watching them a few more minutes, Logan managed to pry her away so they could go find a bathroom.

First they found one for Laura, but as it was a women's bathroom they couldn't go in with her.

"I'll be right outside," Logan told her. "You go in, do what you gotta do, and remember–"

"Wash your hands," Laura said. "I know, I know."

Then she skipped off into the bathrooms.

"There's only one exit?" Bucky asked.

Logan nodded. "Yeah. We've been here before, I already checked it out."

"Okay."

They waited a moment, then Logan side-eyed Bucky and asked, "What was so funny back there?"

A smile broke over Bucky's face. "Oh... well, it's just... Laura huffing and saying, 'fine', sounds exactly like _you_ huffing and saying 'fine'. And I don't think I'll ever be able to un-see or un-hear that."

"Oh," Logan said, frowning in thought.

"She's definitely your kid," Bucky said.

"I'm aware of that," Logan chuckled. "Just pray you never see her getting mad."

"Does that happen?" Bucky asked.

Logan shrugged one shoulder. "Not usually. She's pretty good. But kids are kids, sometimes there's a meltdown, and it's over quickly."

"I see." Bucky smiled at him. "When did you guys come here last?"

"Uh, not that long." Logan tried to think. "Four months ago? Maybe less."

Bucky nodded, but he didn't say anything.

Logan wondered if Bucky was annoyed Logan hadn't invited him that time, or if he was just overthinking things.

In a panic, he tried to change the conversation. "So, uh, your room-mate gave you his car?"

Bucky snorted a laugh. "I wish. No, he's just gone away this weekend. Left the keys and said if I wanted to borrow it, I can."

"Pretty decent of him," Logan said.

"Mm," Bucky replied, looking down at his shoes. "He's putting the rent up. I won't be able to afford it, so he probably felt bad and wanted to do me a favor."

"Oh," Logan said, panicking about that topic too.

It wasn't like he hadn't given Bucky's living situation any thought after Bucky'd brought it up a few days ago, but he'd been real busy with work, and with Laura. He hadn't had a lot of time to think things through, or even sit down and discuss them with Bucky yet.

Logan was acutely aware that the conversation was looming, though. He just wasn't sure how and when to start it, or what he'd say.

There were probably only two options anyway: either Bucky wanted to move in with him and Logan would let him, or they'd delay it and Bucky would go live somewhere else.

And quite possibly be mad about it, Logan suspected. He had a pretty good idea now that Bucky was angling to live together, and soon.

The quiet between them was tense, and Logan didn't like that. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but then Laura came barreling out of the restroom and flung herself at Logan's front for a hug, winding him as she headbutted his stomach.

"Laura," he grunted, patting her on the shoulder, "gentle with the old man."

"Sorry, Dad." She grinned up at him, clearly still excited about being in the zoo.

Logan smiled, and very carefully grabbed her head with his arm and wrestled her close. She squealed in delight, going immediately into rough and tumble mode. Logan let her hang off his arm like a monkey as she wriggled around and tugged on him.

"C'mon," he said, lifting her up and walking away. "Next exhibit?" He glanced behind him to check that Bucky was following.

"There's a map over there," Bucky pointed out.

Logan nodded, and they headed over to the large printed map of the zoo.

Their conversation would have to wait for now, Logan figured.

Laura was still wriggling around on his arm, so Logan let Bucky have a look at the map.

"We're here," Bucky pointed at the center area. "Where to next? Tropic Zone sounds cool, and it's close by."

"Yes!" Laura squealed, and abandoned Logan's arm in favor of looking at the map with Bucky. She traced the paths with her finger, pointing at exhibits.

"Tropic Zone says bats, birds, and snakes," Bucky said to her. "Sound fun?"

"Yes!" Laura bounced up and down.

"Great." Bucky smiled, then added, "We have to walk past something called the Intelligence Garden to get to it." He glanced at Logan with a wicked smirk. "Guess you'll have to sit that one out."

Logan raised his eyebrows in surprise, while Laura guffawed loudly at Bucky's joke. "Well, that's rude," Logan said, smiling. "C'mon then. Let's hope there's somewhere I can get a coffee on the way."

"Intelligence coffee!" Laura declared.

"That's exactly what coffee is," Bucky said with a smile.

"Can I have some?" Laura asked.

"No," Bucky said, as Logan said, "No way."

Laura groaned, but soon forgot about it and skipped along happily as they headed off to the next exhibit.

 

 

~

 

 

Bucky was enjoying the zoo.

Although, it was also sort of nerve wracking, kind of like doing a job interview, except this was more like a _being-part-of-the-family_ interview.

Sort of. He was probably just worrying too much, that was all.

Bucky hadn't really done this before, hanging out with a partner's kid. He didn't even have much experience with kids; hadn't been around any since he was a teenager and left his last foster home.

Time flew so fast.

Laura was cute, which helped, and definitely seemed older than eight. Bucky would've thought she was at least ten if he hadn't known. He really didn't know what to talk about with her, but the animal exhibits helped with that, and gave them all something to focus on.

It was fine. Bucky tried to tell himself it was going well, they were having a nice day. He was doing fine.

And it probably wasn't the best place to try talk to Logan about anything serious, not in front of Laura, so he was content to leave that stuff for another day and just chill with them.

Logan seemed softer with Laura around, and it was nice. Also cute, especially when Laura would get excited and sort of bounce into Logan or tug on his arm.

Laura seemed excited to be spending time with him too. Normally Logan would see Laura once or twice a fortnight, from what Logan had told him. Depending on his and his ex wife's schedules.

Or sometimes Laura stayed a whole weekend, or longer during school holidays, and usually that would mean radio silence for Bucky.

So today was pretty exciting for Bucky too, being involved in their father-daughter time.

This was a first for all of them.

 

They spent a fair amount of time in the tropical animals area, and it was cool to see the exhibits with snakes, and bats, and some birds.

Laura liked the creepy crawlies best, which Logan was amusingly not so keen on. He hung back while Bucky went right up to the glass fronts with Laura so she could draw some big hairy spiders.

"Dad doesn't like spiders," she whispered to him conspiratorily.

Bucky couldn't help a grin. "Oh?" he whispered back. "I didn't know that."

Laura nodded. "He hates them. He'll get a cup and put them out the window, but he growls and grumbles about it a lot first. And gets a big frowny face."

Bucky smothered his laughter with his hand. "This is amazing." He glanced around behind them to see where Logan was, standing as far away from the glass fronted exhibits as he could, and side-eyeing the creatures inside suspiciously. "Okay," Bucky said, turning back to Laura, "I see your point. He seems really uncomfortable."

"Do you like spiders?" she asked him.

"I don't mind them," Bucky said. "I used to have a pet tarantula when I was a teenager."

Laura stared at him open mouthed. "A big spider?"

"Yeah. Here," Bucky got his phone out and went to open Google. "I'll show you a picture. They got the orange stripes on their legs."

"Don't they bite you?" Laura asked, staring at Bucky's phone screen as he brought up tarantula images.

"They can, but they're not poisonous or anything," Bucky told her. "It's good to know which spiders are dangerous, and which ones won't hurt you. They only want to eat bugs, they don't want to eat people."

Laura giggled at that. "I want to have a pet lizard, but Dad said no."

"They take some looking after," Bucky said, eager to share his knowledge.

At least this was some common ground he could talk to her about.

"They need special lamps and tanks to keep them warm, and you gotta keep live bugs for them to eat."

Laura pouted, and Bucky quickly added, "Maybe when you're older, you can research about pets and see what your dad says then, huh?"

"Mom said when I'm ten we can get a dog," Laura said matter of factly. "But that will be my mom's pet, and I need a pet for Dad's home too."

"Oh, you do, huh?" Bucky said with amusement. "Guess you'll have to battle that out with him when the time comes."

"That's why I want a lizard at Dad's," Laura said, "because Mom won't like it."

"What are you two yapping about?" Logan called over. "How many more insects are you gonna draw, Laura?"

Bucky straightened up from his crouched position, and faced Logan with a grin. "Spiders aren't insects, just so you know."

"Dad! Bucky had a pet tarantula!" Laura announced loudly, bouncing up to Logan.

Bucky watched Logan's face go through several shades of horror before he looked at Bucky in disbelief.

He couldn't help snorting a laugh. "Past tense, Logan," he said. "It was a long time ago. Old Fuzzy Legs is long dead."

Logan was still looking at him like he'd grown a second head. "Why the–" he said, before he caught himself and glanced at Laura. He cleared his throat. "Why on Earth would you have a pet spider?"

"Why not?" Bucky laughed. "I didn't cuddle it in bed! I kept it in a tank like you're supposed to."

Logan was shaking his head. "You think you know a guy," he muttered, and put a hand on Laura's shoulder to steer her out of the enclosure. "C'mon, I need some daylight. Find another exhibit."

Bucky laughed to himself as they left the creepy crawlies, and headed back toward the birds and the sunshine.

Logan had picked up a leaflet with a map, and was studying it carefully. "What about the lemurs?" he said. "You like those, with the stripy tails."

"Ooh, yeah!" Laura agreed, holding her workbook and jumping up and down. "Lemurs!"

They walked to the lemurs, which had quite a few visitors all crowding around the exhibit to get a good look of the ring-tailed lemur family bouncing around inside their enclosure.

Laura was bouncing too, and they managed to find a spot where she could see, and rest her workbook on the railing to do a quick sketch.

"How many you gonna draw?" Bucky asked her, watching with interest as Laura sketched out a lemur on the page.

"I need to do a diagram of the animal," she explained, "with some facts too."

"Ah, yes, facts," Bucky said, and glanced over at the visitor information board. "We got those there, so we can read them in a minute."

Logan's phone started buzzing in his pocket, so he took it out and walked a few steps back as he took the call.

Probably just work, Bucky thought, as he stayed with Laura.

Bucky watched the lemurs, as Laura was drawing. Then he heard Logan's voice behind them in the crowd, just a quiet, "Are you kidding me?"

Bucky glanced round, trying to find Logan. He was only a few paces away, still on the phone and not looking pleased.

 _Uh oh_.

So much for their chill day out.

Logan was on the phone for another minute, then he came back to stand next to Bucky with a deep frown on his face.

"What's up?" Bucky asked quietly, so as not to alarm Laura.

"That was Kitty," Logan said. "She was already on her way to the club when the security firm called to say there's been a break in. I must've missed their call when we were in that exhibit."

"Oh," Bucky said. "What sort of break in?"

"Remember that idiot I fired a few weeks back?" Logan muttered, clearly trying to keep Laura out of the conversation.

"Yeah," Bucky said.

"Well, they caught him on the security cameras trying to get into the safe. He's been arrested." Logan sighed. "I better head down there and see what's happening. Kitty's on her own until six, and I gotta call the insurance company."

Bucky nodded, thinking through their options. "I got the car, why don't I drive us all down there?"

"No, I don't want Laura there," Logan said, and reached out to tickle Laura behind her ear. "Sorry, kid, but we gotta cut this short. I'll call the sitter and see if she's free."

"Sitter?" Bucky said, as Laura wailed, "But I haven't seen the snow leopard yet, Dad!"

"I got an emergency at work," Logan said firmly. "We'll have to come back another day, that's all."

Laura pouted, and looked set to wail again. Bucky quickly said, "Hold on. Why don't we stay at the zoo, me and Laura, while you go do whatever you need to."

Logan looked at him in surprise, as Laura squealed, "Yes! Daddy, please!"

"But–" Logan tried, and Bucky interrupted.

"We'll stay at the zoo, Laura can finish her schoolwork. I've got the car until tomorrow, I can drive her back to your apartment later if you don't make it back here before closing."

"Uh," Logan said, clearly caught off guard.

Laura was looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes. "Please, Daddy!" she whined. "Please let me stay at the zoo! Bucky will be with me."

"It'll be fine," Bucky insisted, refusing to lose out to a babysitter when he was _right here._

Logan sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. "Alright. Alright, you can stay."

Laura squealed for joy, and Bucky felt pretty pleased too.

"That means you have to wear your backpack," Logan said firmly, as he bent down on one knee and held the backpack out for Laura.

"Fine," she huffed, slipping her arms into it.

Logan secured the bag in place, then pressed one of the ladybug clips on the side: the clip beeped, and Logan said, "Okay, the tracker is on. That means you _have_ to keep your backpack on you, Laura. I'm not kidding."

"I know," she said blithely, turning around to face her dad.

"You be on your best behaviour," Logan told her. "You stay with Bucky and do as he tells you. _No_ running off. And if you get lost–"

"I find a mommy with kids and ask her to call you," Laura said. "I know, Dad. I'll be good, I promise."

Logan nodded, and reached out to tuck a lock of her long hair behind her ear. "You see that you are. And I'll see you shortly, kiddo."

"Okay, Daddy."

They had a quick hug, then Logan stood up and turned to Bucky. "You call me if there's any problems, anything at all."

Bucky nodded. "I will. We'll stay here until close, yeah?"

"Well, yeah, but if she gets tired, would you take her home for me? Oh," he added, reaching in his pocket. "I'll give you my key."

Bucky's heart leapt to his throat, and his eyes widened a little as he watched Logan take his apartment keys off his key chain and hand them over.

Bucky tried to stay calm as he pocketed keys, and he smiled back. "No problem. Anything she can't eat?"

"No allergies, so whatever she wants," Logan said. "But no candy, or her mom will kill me."

"I can have candy!" Laura put in.

"No, you can't," Logan said, giving her a flat look. "And I should be back before dinner anyway. You can snack as long as it's healthy."

"Ugh!" Laura groaned, rolling her eyes.

Bucky bit back a smile, and told Logan, "We'll be fine. Go on, go check on the club. Text me when you can."

"Sure." Logan made to go, then paused and looked at Bucky. "Um, thanks," he said, and leaned in to place a kiss on Bucky's cheek.

It was so fast, Bucky didn't have time to react before Logan was pulling away.

Bucky blinked in suprise, and watched Logan rush off through the crowds of visitors. "Bye," he said belatedly.

When he heard a cheeky giggle and looked down, Laura was watching him eagerly.

"Daddy gave you a kiss!" she announced.

Bucky felt his cheeks heat up instantly, but he smiled. "That was more like a peck on the cheek, but yeah."

"It's a kiss!" Laura stated, then turned back to the lemurs. "He kissed you!"

"Okay," Bucky relented, "you're right, Laura."

"Of course I am," she said, making Bucky laugh. "Where to after the lemurs?"

"Wherever you want," he told her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~  
> (What has Bucky let himself in for?? Do you think he'll be a good sitter?)


	5. On Their Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's adventures in babysitting begin!

Bucky's primary concern at being left in charge of a kid was that he'd lose her, that Laura would run off and disappear and it'd be all his fault for not watching her.

But surprisingly, Laura stuck to him like glue after Logan left. Maybe she was more cautious with her dad gone.

Once Bucky realised Laura wasn't going anywhere without him, he relaxed minutely, and tried his best to make the rest of the day just as fun for Laura.

They worked their way around the other exhibits, with Laura drawing animals and Bucky checking his phone for messages.

It was getting late, and the zoo would only be open for another hour.

"There's a cafe," Bucky said, hoping he could convince Laura to take a rest. He sure as hell needed one. "You wanna go check it out?"

Laura nodded, seeming unusually quiet.

Maybe she was tired, Bucky wondered. He had no idea what a kid's schedule was, but surely a break and a snack would go down well.

Bucky took her to the cafe. It was nice, and despite being close to the end of the day, there were plenty of snack options still there. Bucky picked up a tray and set a bottle of still water onto it. He figured that would be useful to have on him if Laura got thirsty.

Laura had gone over to the cake display. She had pressed herself up against the glass, staring at the cakes. As Bucky approached, she looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. He had to admire her acting abilities.

"Hungry?" he asked, trying not to smile. "They got sandwiches, or toasted sandwiches."

Laura pointed silently at the cakes behind the glass.

"Are you allowed to have cake?" Bucky asked.

"Sometimes," Laura replied. "Please, Bucky? We had sandwiches already and I really love cake."

Bucky deliberated, and leaned down a bit to look at the cakes. Some were gluten free, some vegan. Maybe the less sugary choices wouldn't be so bad.

"Carrot cake?" he suggested.

Laura made a face of sheer disgust, and pointed to the cake in the center: a gooey chocolate one.

"Chocolate cake," Bucky said. "Well... alright."

Man, he was soft.

Laura turned to him with her mouth open in shock before she broke into a smile and began bouncing up and down. "Chocolate cake, chocolate cake!" she sang, clearly excited.

Bucky steered her toward the cash register so they could order. He paid for the water, the cake, and ordered a large coffee for himself.

"You want to choose somewhere to sit?" he asked her once his coffee was ready.

Laura bounded over to a table by the window, and Bucky followed her with their food.

"One slice of chocolate cake," he said, imitating a waiter as he placed the plate in front of Laura, along with a fork. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you, Bucky," she said shyly.

Bucky smiled. "You're welcome. Tell me if it's yummy."

Laura took a big bite of the cake, and nodded fast. "Mmmm!"

"Great." Bucky set the water in front of her too, and his coffee in the opposite space. He put the tray aside, and sat down.

He'd had no idea ambling round a zoo all afternoon would be so exhausting: it was such a relief to sit down. Bucky took a big sip of coffee and checked his phone.

No word from Logan yet, but it would've taken him a while to get to the club, and then he'd have all that drama to sort out. Bucky would wait to hear from him. No point bugging Logan when he was busy with an emergency.

"Is it Dad?" Laura asked.

Bucky shook his head, and set his phone down. "Not yet. But I'm sure he won't be too long."

Laura looked down at her cake thoughtfully. "Okay," she said.

Bucky raised his mug for another sip of coffee, thinking they'd have a nice rest.

Then the questions started. Laura finished her cake in record time, and asked, "Do you work in Dad's club?"

Bucky lowered his mug carefully. "Yes, most of the time."

"And you do the wrestling?"

"Yes."

Well, sometimes, he thought. But he wasn't about to elaborate on his various jobs.

"Google says it's an adult club," Laura said matter of factly.

Bucky fought _very_ hard to maintain a neutral expression on his face. "Oh, really?"

"Mom said that's why her and Dad broke up, because he was with naked people all the time," she said. "But I watch wrestling with Dad and they have to be naked. Or just wear those costumes. You can't wear normal clothes, right?"

"Uh, that's right." Bucky blinked in surprise. "You... watch wrestling?"

"WWE," Laura said.

Bucky near wilted with relief. "Oh, right. Of course."

WWE was a lot different from the mud wrestling that the club hosted. He'd have been very surprised if Logan let Laura watch that sort of wrestling.

"You're Dad's only boyfriend, right?" Laura asked. "He doesn't care if people are naked, does he?"

"Um, no, I guess?" Bucky laughed weakly. "And, yeah, as far as I know it's just me. But I can't really speak for your dad and your mom, Laura. That's their business, and not mine. So I have no idea, sorry."

Laura watched him curiously. "Could I come watch you at the club?" she asked. "I wanna go to a wrestling match for real, but Mom always says no."

"Well, they are on pretty late," Bucky said, fibbing slightly. "Maybe that's something you should ask your dad? It's not really my place to say."

"Okay." Laura looked down at her plate, then back up with a big grin. "Do you think you'll marry my dad? Then _you_ can say if I go places or not, and I'll have two dads just like my friend!"

"I, uh, um..."

_Well, shit._

Bucky didn't know what to say.

"Do you think you will?" Laura pressed.

"I don't know, Laura," he said honestly.

"But do you want to?"

Bucky's face flamed up instantly. "Uh, well, these things aren't that simple, Laura. We haven't been together that long."

Or lived together yet, Bucky thought.

Not that he hadn't tried to initiate that, but now he wasn't sure if Logan wanted to or not.

"How long have you been together?" Laura asked. "My friend's dad proposed to his partner after one month. They're getting married soon and I'm going to the wedding!"

"That's great." Bucky forced a smile to his face. "Hey, you want a milkshake? They got milkshakes here. Let's go choose one."

Laura was successfully distracted by the prospect of a milkshake, and Bucky took her up to the counter.

As the milkshake was being made, Bucky figured he'd better have loads more distractions up his sleeve if he was going to survive a few hours of interrogation with a plucky eight year old.

 

 

~

 

 

The zoo was closing. They'd managed to have a look around some more of the animals, and Laura was still being really good. Bucky checked his phone again but still nothing from Logan, so he wrote him a quick text to say he'd take Laura to the apartment.

Hopefully Logan would meet them there.

Bucky smiled down at Laura as he put his phone away. "Okay, so... we should probably go now, because they'll close the zoo. We'll go back to your dad's place and wait for him, alright?"

Laura nodded, looking up at him. "What's he doing?"

"It's a work thing," Bucky said, and touched her backpack gently to encourage her along. "I don't really know myself, but I'm sure he'll try to get back soon."

She nodded again, and walked along beside Bucky. He led them out of the zoo, where there was still plenty of stuff to look at, and it was nice and quiet.

Once they exited the zoo and came out on the street, Bucky felt the panic of being responsible for a kid grip him again.

"We gotta walk a couple blocks to my car," he said to Laura, and offered his hand down. "I dunno if you wanna hold my hand, or...?"

Laura slipped her hand into his before he finished the sentence, and Bucky was relieved. He held her hand firmly, and led the way through the street.

"What will we have for dinner?" Laura asked, tugging on his arm a little.

Bucky slowed down, remembered she only had little legs to walk. "Um, I don't know."

He had no idea kids ate so much.

"Is there stuff at the apartment to eat?" he asked.

Laura shrugged, so that was no help.

"I guess, maybe we can stop somewhere on the way," Bucky said, as they approached a crosswalk and waited.

"Can we get a pizza?" Laura pleaded, tugging on Bucky's hand with both of hers.

"Uh..." Bucky was busy checking the crosswalk for traffic, waiting for the green pedestrian light to show. "Okay, sure," he agreed.

"Yay!" Laura cheered, and bounced up and down.

When the green light flashed they crossed the street safely, and Bucky took her to where he'd parked the car.

It was a relief to get Laura safely inside and buckled in.

Bucky went around to the driver's side and exhaled, then he got out his phone to enter in Logan's address, and clip the phone to the dash.

"So we'll stop somewhere to get food and stuff on the way," Bucky said, pulling on his seatbelt. "Are you coming in with me, or you wanna stay in the car?"

"I wanna come!" Laura said.

"Okay."

Bucky drove them through slow New York City traffic towards Logan's neighborhood. He told Laura to look out the window and check for stores where they could get food and Bucky could park.

"Aren't we getting takeout?" Laura asked.

"No, we're going to make the pizza," Bucky said. "It's healthier."

Laura scoffed, but diligently looked out the window to suggest stores. She found a little bodega that looked promising, and there was parking nearby.

Bucky decided it would do. He parked up and helped Laura out of the car. She didn't want to wear her backpack, but Bucky remembered the ladybug clip, so they transferred it from the bag and onto Laura's jacket.

She reached for Bucky's hand again and he took her into the store, feeling kind of emotional at how easily she trusted him.

"Can we get a cart!" Laura burst out loudly, upon spotting the small shopping carts.

"Okay, but no rushing off," Bucky said, and helped her pull out a cart. "Stay by me and be careful steering it."

"I will," Laura said, and took control of the cart.

She could barely see over the top, and Bucky had to smother a grin.

They went around the store, and while it was kind of small with only a few fresh things, Bucky managed to find some chilled margarita pizzas. He also picked out a salami, and a few vegetables.

"You can help me cut these up and put them on the pizza," Bucky said, setting a bag of bell peppers into the cart.

"I don't like those," Laura said, pointing accusingly at the peppers.

"What? You don't like peppers?"

Laura made a face and shook her head.

"Okay..." Bucky put the bell peppers back. "How about mushrooms?"

Laura nodded, so Bucky picked out a couple of large mushrooms instead.

"What else do you want on the pizza?" he asked her.

"Um..." Laura looked at the shelves of fruit and veg. "Daddy likes the one with pineapple."

Bucky laughed. "Oh, yeah, how could I forget. Okay, so we'll have one salami and mushroom pizza, and we can do a ham and pineapple one too. Sound good?"

"Yeah!" Laura grinned.

They picked out a packet of thinly sliced ham, and a tin of pineapple rings.

"And a dessert?" Laura pleaded, using her puppy dog eyes on him again.

Bucky thought about it. He wasn't sure how much trouble he'd be in for giving Laura cake, milkshake, pizza _and_ another dessert. Maybe there was a better option somewhere.

"What about Jell-o?" he suggested.

Laura got that excited look on her face again, so Bucky took her around the aisles looking for Jell-O. He let her choose the flavors, and put two packets in the cart.

"You can put fruit in it," he mused, but Laura made a face, so he didn't press for the fruit.

"Alright, I think we got everything we need. Let's go to the checkout."

He picked up milk on the way, because milk was always useful. Laura steered the cart into the checkout, with a little help from Bucky, and they waited in line.

Laura wanted to help unload the food, and Bucky smiled as he watched her put each item onto the counter. She was so excited to be getting groceries, it was kind of infectious just being with her.

The lady at the checkout smiled at Laura. "Aren't you helpful?" she said.

Laura grinned happily. "We're having pizza!"

"I can see that," the lady replied, and turned her smile to Bucky. "Your daughter is adorable."

Bucky was a little taken aback, both flattered and surprised at the comment.

Then Laura announced rather loudly, "He's not my dad! He's my dad's boyfriend."

A very awkward moment followed where the checkout lady lost her smile and blinked a few times, and Bucky cleared his throat and forced a smile onto his face.

"Er, what's the total on that?" he asked politely.

The checkout lady still looked a bit shocked, and hurriedly cashed up their items without saying another word.

Bucky paid for the groceries, and helped Laura to bag them up. It didn't escape his notice that the checkout lady didn't seem as friendly now, so he forced himself to be extra polite and said thank you to her as they left.

"Laura, take my hand," Bucky told her, holding his hand out.

Laura latched onto him, and he carried the groceries with his other hand as he led them out the store.

He really hoped Laura hadn't picked up on any awkwardness there. Bucky didn't give a shit about straight people and their opinions, but he didn't want Laura to have to deal with it.

"Are we going home now?" she asked.

"Yeah, and we'll make pizzas."

"And the Jell-O?"

"And the Jell-O," Bucky said. "You know, I haven't had Jell-O in forever."

He took her back to the car, put the groceries on the backseat, and then got Laura into her seat. When she was strapped in, Bucky paused to check she was okay. "All good?"

She smiled at him, wriggling in her seat as she swung her legs.

"Excited for pizza?" he guessed.

"Yeah!"

Bucky smiled, relieved she was still in a good mood. He gave into the urge to reach out and briefly press his index finger to her little button nose, and blew a big, loud raspberry. Laura squealed with delight, waving her hands to try grab his finger, but Bucky was too quick and drew back, shutting the car door.

He blew another raspberry at her through the window, then walked around to the driver's side.

"Okay," he said, getting in. "Let's go make these pizzas."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~  
> Hey! Sorry for the delay on this wip, I got super busy!
> 
> I'm also taking part in the [Loganbucky fest](http://hellyeahloganbucky.tumblr.com) in November, so if you like Logan/Bucky pairing, please go follow the blog and check it out! Loads of new content will be posted. :D Yayy
> 
> I'll try to finish this wip too. Not long to go now!  
> What other slightly awkward questions do you think Laura will ask Bucky? ^.^


	6. Making Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a slight bit of whump in this chapter, full warnings in the chapter END NOTES.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~

 

 

Bucky was, admittedly, pretty excited to use Logan's key to get into his apartment.

Laura barrelled in first, throwing off her backpack, coat and shoes immediately. Bucky was carrying the groceries and also the picnic hamper, and he shut the door after them. He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of: can you not leave your stuff everywhere... but she flew off into the apartment.

He heard the bathroom door slam, and smiled to himself. "Okay, then," he said, setting the picnic hamper down.

The food had been out of the refrigerator a long time now, so Bucky figured he'd let Logan deal with it. He didn't want Laura to eat anything from there.

He toed off his boots, setting them aside, and hung up his jacket. He tidied up Laura's things too, then went to put Logan's key onto the sideboard. Bucky hesitated, and wondered if he would have his own key to the apartment someday.

He rolled his eyes at himself, and set the key down. He had dinner to make, no time for daydreaming.

Bucky took the groceries through to the kitchen, which was thankfully clear and tidy. Not something he was used to, living with his messy room-mate, Clint.

"Um, right," he muttered, placing the bag on the counter. His hair was already tied back, so he went to the sink and washed his hands.

By the time he was cleaned up and unpacking the food, Laura came bouncing into the kitchen and pressed herself up against the island unit. She reached for a packet of Jell-O, and Bucky smiled.

"How hungry are you?" he asked. "On a scale of one to ten?"

"Hmm." Laura frowned in thought. "Six or seven!"

"Wow, okay." Bucky folded the shopping bag, and surveyed all their food. "You wanna make the Jell-O first, because it'll take longer to set in the refrigerator. I'll put the oven on now, and the pizzas can go in soon."

Laura simply nodded, watching him with big, curious eyes.

"Okay." Bucky smiled at her. "Have you got a stool or something you can bring in here? Otherwise you can't see what we're doing."

"Uh huh," she replied, and ran out the kitchen.

Bucky exhaled a laugh quietly, and began organising the workspace. He moved the vegetables and pizzas to one side, and opened up the Jell-O packets. Then he had to hunt for bowls, a pan, and a wooden spoon.

Laura came back, carrying a small plastic kickstool. Bucky was busy reading the instructions on the Jell-O packet as Laura put her stool down and climbed up. She leaned onto the worktop space next to him, slapping her hands on the counter in excitement.

"Mm, okay," Bucky said, and took the saucepan over to the sink. He'd already turned the oven on for pizzas, so that would take a few minutes to warm up. He poured a little water into the pan, then set it on the stove. "I forgot the water has to heat up first. But we can chop some vegetables in the meantime, okay?"

"Okay!" Laura said.

"Have you washed your hands?" Bucky asked her.

"Yeah!"

"Right. The chefs are at work." He picked out a butter knife and a tin opener. "You can cut the pineapples."

Once he set the pineapple rings out on a plate, he gave Laura the knife and told her to cut even chunks.

He figured that would keep her busy for a while, and he picked out a sharp knife for himself and began chopping up the other veg. Bucky kept an eye on Laura as she cut the pineapple, smiling to himself at the frown of concentration she had.

When they were mostly done, the water on the stove was ready too, so Bucky unwrapped one of the Jell-O blocks and added it to the water.

"You want to stir?" he asked.

Laura picked up her stool to come stand at the stove. Bucky offered her the wooden spoon and stayed with her as she poked and stirred the blob of red Jell-O round the pan.

"It's not melting," she complained.

"Give it a minute," Bucky said.

Laura stirred a little more, but Bucky could tell she was getting bored of the Jell-O.

"You want to decorate the first pizza?" he asked.

That earned him a big grin, so he left the Jell-O for a moment as he helped Laura get set up at the island, with one of the pizzas on a tray.

"Make sure you get lots of veg on there," he told her, going back to the stove to stir the Jell-O.

Laura was very studious with her task, adding each slice of veg really delicately. Bucky watched from the stove, and when the Jell-O was melted he took it over to the other counter and poured it into a bowl.

"This is going to set," he said, putting it inside the refrigerator. "Don't move it while it's setting, okay?"

Laura nodded absently, still engrossed in her pizza toppings.

Bucky's phone chimed with a text, so he got it out his pocket and checked the screen.

He smiled when he saw it was a message from Logan, and opened it.

_How desperately do you need me back?_

Bucky huffed a laugh at the message. He was about to text a reply, when he thought of something else.

"Hey, Laura," he said, coming around the counter. "Shall I send your dad a picture of you making dinner?"

Laura looked up with a grin. "Yeah!"

Bucky turned his phone on its side to get a good picture. "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" Laura shouted happily.

Bucky laughed, and snapped a few shots. "Okay, great. I'll send this to him. Is the first pizza ready?"

"Not yet!" she said, and went back to her toppings.

Bucky noticed she'd snuck some pineapple chunks onto the pizza with the salami and mushroom. Good thing he didn't mind pineapple on pizza.

He texted the best photo to Logan, along with the caption, _hurry, or you'll miss dinner!_

Bucky was feeling really warm and happy about it until he got a reply from Logan: _She had pizza this week already. Try get her to eat salad with it, there's some in the refrigerator._

Bucky tried not to feel disappointed, or like he'd messed up. How was he supposed to know what she'd had to eat all week? No one had told him.

He texted back a quick, _Ok_ , then put his phone away. He definitely wasn't telling Logan about the chocolate cake and the milkshake, then.

 

 

When the pizzas were all done and cooking in the oven, there wasn't much else to do except clear the kitchen and wash up.

Bucky asked Laura to wash her hands again, then got her to sit at the table. He'd made a quick salad from what he'd found in the refrigerator, and set it down on the table with plates and cutlery.

Laura made a face at the salad, and Bucky had to smother a smile.

He gave her a glass of water, and he hovered by the oven waiting for the pizzas.

"Do you like cooking?" Laura asked.

"Sure," Bucky said.

"Do you have any kids?"

Bucky laughed in surprise, and shook his head. "Nope, no kids."

"Do you want kids?" she asked.

"Um," he stalled, unsure how to answer that.

He normally would've said a flat _no_ , but Bucky was acutely aware that Laura was herself a kid, and would more than likely have a different viewpoint of what having kids involved. Saying no might seem rude to her, or something. And Bucky didn't want to upset her.

"Kids are great," he said, trying to be tactful. "But I'm still kind of young for that, Laura."

Not exactly true, but. He had to say something.

"You're younger than my dad," Laura said.

Walked right into that, Bucky thought, as he fought to maintain a neutral expression.

"Yeah," he said. "Not by much, though."

"My mom is younger than Dad too," Laura said, watching Bucky. "She said he liked _younger models_ , but I don't think Dad knows any models, does he?"

Bucky blinked in surprise, and opened his mouth to reply.

He had no fucking idea what to say.

"Does he know models, Bucky?" she asked.

"I... I think it's just an expression, Laura," he said.

The oven beeped (thank God), so Bucky put on an oven mitt and went to check on the pizzas.

The sooner he could give food to Laura and distract her, the better.

"How well done do you want the pizzas?" he asked, opening the oven to check.

"I don't like them burned!" Laura declared. "Dad always burns them, and they taste gross!"

Bucky chuckled in amusement, and went to take out one of the trays. "Let's try this one then."

He set the first pizza (salami, mushroom, and pineapple) onto the worktop to cool. He'd give the second pizza a couple minutes longer.

Bucky looked in the drawer for a pizza slicer, and Laura started up questioning him again.

"Do you have brothers and sisters?"

Bucky kept his back to her as he looked through the drawer of utensils. He was used to lying to adults, or rather, omitting the truth, but it was different lying to a kid.

He felt kind of bad, but...

She didn't need to know the sad stuff.

Bucky found the pizza slicer and took it out. He shut the drawer and turned to give her a smile. "Just me."

Laura gasped. "Like me! I don't have brothers or sisters!"

"We'll be good pals, then." Bucky started cutting up the pizza, and tried not to feel bad for fibbing to Laura.

In truth, he hadn't seen his biological sister for years, so it wasn't exactly a lie. Becca had been a lot younger than him and she was very well behaved, unlike him. She'd been adopted early, and Bucky had wished her well, but he didn't want to keep in touch either.

He figured she was better off without him, and it was easier to just not talk about it.

With the pizza cut, he took the tray over to the table and used a fork to deposit a few slices on Laura's plate, and then his own.

"Be careful, it's hot," he told her, and took the tray back to the counter in case she touched it accidentally.

Then he checked on the second pizza, and turned off the oven so it wouldn't burn. Laura was already picking apart one of her slices when he sat back down at the table.

"Good?" he asked. "Blow on it if it's too hot."

Laura nodded, busy stuffing a salami slice into her mouth.

Bucky smiled, and picked up his first slice. "How much are we gonna leave for your dad?"

Laura giggled, and took a big bite out of her pizza slice.

"Yeah, he better hurry up," Bucky said, and bit into his own slice.

They ate in companionable silence for a few moments. Bucky nudged the salad bowl a little closer to Laura's plate, trying to encourage her to eat some.

"I don't want salad," she stated, as she chomped through her pizza.

"Have a little bit," Bucky said. "Do it for me."

Laura huffed dramatically, but reached for the salad. "Alright."

"And," Bucky leaned in to whisper to her, "whatever you do, Laura, do not tell your dad about the chocolate cake today."

Laura grinned deviously. "I won't."

"Good." Bucky felt a bit relieved. He didn't want to mess up his first time baby-sitting.

Kid-sitting?

What was it called when the kids weren't babies? He hadn't a clue.

"Dad lets me have dessert sometimes," Laura said. "And I know where he keeps the cookies."

Bucky laughed. "You'll have to tell me later. I didn't know he had secret cookies."

"In the lounge," Laura said, "second drawer down on the dresser."

"Isn't it locked?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, but he keeps the key in a pot just on top."

Bucky laughed again. "I see."

He went to take another bite of his pizza when he noticed Laura watching him. "What?" he asked. "Is there pizza on my face?"

Laura giggled, but shook her head. "Bucky?"

"Yeah?"

"When did you get long hair?"

"When? Oh," Bucky said, thinking back. "I kinda grew it out when I was a teenager."

"Does it go any longer?" she asked.

"It has been longer," Bucky said. "It's a bit of a pain, though, so I usually get it cut to keep it under control."

Laura nodded sagely, like she understood these troubles.

"I want an undercut," she announced, making Bucky raise his eyebrows. "Mom said no."

Bucky bit his lip so he didn't smile. Laura was too cute.

"Maybe that's something you can bring up when you're a bit older," he hedged. "Your school might not like it."

Laura rolled her eyes and huffed, very dramatic. "But you can _hide_ an undercut!" she insisted. "My friend does."

"Well, that's... true," Bucky said, thinking it through. "Look, you want my advice on dealing with adults?"

Laura looked at Bucky wide, eager eyes, and nodded her head fast.

Bucky had to smile. "Okay, this is just between you and me. No telling, got it?"

She nodded again.

"Because if you tell on me, then we'll both get in trouble."

"I won't tell," she said softly. "Promise."

"Okay, then." Bucky grinned. "It's pretty simple, really. When you deal with adults who are taking care of you, like your parents, right? They're working very hard all the time, doing lots of things."

Laura nodded, listening.

"So," Bucky went on, "if you want something, it's usually better if you do something for them first. Like, you can say to your mom, hey, Mom, I'll do the washing up tonight. Or, ask her if there's chores you can do on the weekend."

Laura's expression quickly morphed into one of distaste. " _Chores?_ "

"Yeah, they're not so bad," Bucky said with a grin. "Your goal is to get your parents in a really good mood, so that when you _do_ ask them for something, they're more likely to say yes."

"Oh." Laura frowned in thought. "But what if I just ask anyway?"

"Sure, you can ask," Bucky replied, "but for something big? Like your undercut, or getting a dog? You better start pulling out the big guns, kid. Do some real nice stuff around the house, or treat your mom. Things like that get them in a good mood, and then you can ask for things."

Laura nodded slowly. "Okay. So, like, the washing up?"

"Yeah, or laundry. Or tidying the place. You could ask your mom what she'd like you to do. Just tell her you want to help out, and get her to write you a list of chores."

"This sounds a lot like work," Laura said seriously, going back to her pizza.

Bucky laughed. "Depends how much you want them to say yes to something." He took a bit of his pizza, chewed thoughtfully. "You know, if you show how good you are at tidying up at home, it'll probably help a lot for getting your dog."

Laura ate her pizza, and watched Bucky. "Did you do chores to get a pet?" she asked with her mouth full.

"Uh, yeah." Bucky finished his pizza and reached for a glass of water. He took a sip, weighing up in his mind how much he should share today. He'd just have to be tactful, that was all.

He set down his glass. "Remember I said about my tarantula?"

Laura's eyes went wide again, and she nodded.

"Well, he wasn't exactly mine," Bucky told her. "He belonged to... one of the adults, and I was told that if I was really good and kept my room tidy, and helped out around the house, I could keep Old Fuzzy Legs in my room and look after him."

"Your parents made you do chores and then gave you a pet?" Laura questioned.

It hadn't been his parents, it'd been at one of the group homes, but Bucky nodded his head anyway. "Yeah, see? It's like getting a prize for good behaviour."

"Hmm." Laura frowned thoughtfully, her little dark brows all bunched together.

"It's just a suggestion," Bucky told her gently. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"But doing chores could help me get pets?"

"Possibly," Bucky said. "Also, don't jump in with your ask right away. Build up to it."

"Okay," Laura said.

"And definitely do not tell them that I told you to."

Laura smiled, and shook her head.

They finished off their pizza, and Bucky went to take the second pizza out of the oven to cool.

"You gonna eat a bit more salad?" Bucky asked, when he sat back down.

Laura made a face, but she did eat more salad.

"You want more pizza?" he asked.

She shook her head, spooning salad onto her plate. "Bucky," she asked.

"Yeah?"

"When my mom makes her boyfriend Pete mow the lawn, is that doing a chore?"

Bucky huffed a laugh. "Yeah, sounds like it."

"Should I mow the lawn?"

"That might be a bit of a big job, sweetie," Bucky told her. "Heavy machinery is best for adults, okay? But you can ask your mom, maybe she's got other yard work instead."

"Okay. I will," Laura said, eating her salad.

"You think you still got room for Jell-O later?" Bucky asked.

Laura nodded, then looked like an idea had struck her. She turned to Bucky and said, "Should I do the washing up now?"

"Do you know how to?" Bucky asked.

Laura made a considering face.

"Want me to show you?" he suggested.

When they were done eating, Bucky took the plates and utensils over to the sink. Laura brought her kickstool, and came to stand next to Bucky.

"It's probably better if adults do sharp things," he said, quickly washing up the knives and pizza slicer. "Watch how I'm doing it, then you're going to have a go with some plates, alright?"

"Okay," Laura said, leaning in and watching avidly.

Bucky got the water just right, and handed the scrubber to Laura. "Here you go. Make sure they're nice and clean before you rinse and set them to dry."

She nodded, and carefully began washing up. Bucky stayed at the sink and watched, and when she'd done the rinsing stage Bucky showed her how to stack things.

"Sharp things always point down," he told her, "so no one can accidentally cut themselves. Other cutlery points up, so it dries. Stack the plates." He helped Laura when she couldn't quite reach. "That's it. Awesome. See, the things have to be standing upright to dry, otherwise they dry dirty. Got it?"

"Yeah." Laura finished the washing up, doing a good job too.

"And that's it. Gimme a high five," Bucky said, holding out his hand.

Laura giggled and smacked his hand.

"And it's all done," he said. "Not so bad, is it?"

"I guess not," Laura replied. "Can we have Jell-O now?"

"Let's see if it's set. Might need a bit longer."

He took Laura to the refrigerator so they could inspect the Jell-O. It was still a bit gooey, so they had to put it back.

"Shouldn't be too long," Bucky said.

He hoped.

Maybe Jell-O had been a bad idea.

"Want to watch T.V. or something?" he suggested.

"Or," Laura said with a grin, "we can eat Dad's cookies?"

Bucky laughed. "Oh, his secret cookies. Um... I don't know, Laura. If he comes home and catches us, I might get in trouble."

"They're only cookies!" Laura complained.

"You can ask him when he gets home, okay?" Bucky said. "Come on, choose what show we're gonna watch."

They went to the couch, and Laura turned the T.V. on to a kids channel, finding a Disney movie already playing.

"Yay! I love this one," she said, bouncing into the couch.

Bucky hadn't seen a Disney movie in forever. This one was already halfway through, and had a strong family vibe to it.

Barely five minutes in and Bucky had to resist rolling his eyes at all the sacharine sweetness.

Laura seemed to be enjoying it though.

Then another ten minutes along, Laura turned to Bucky and asked, "Are your parents still together?"

Oh, boy, Bucky thought.

"Kinda," he said.

"Do you live with them?"

"No, sweetie, I live with a room-mate."

"Dad only has Grandma now," Laura said matter of factly. "I never met Granddad, but Grandma is really nice. Have you met her?"

"Um, no. I haven't."

"Will Dad meet your parents?"

"Oh, well... my parents aren't around anymore, Laura."

"Not in New York?" she asked.

Bucky tried not to smile at that. "No, I mean, they died a long time ago."

Laura's face fell, so Bucky quickly added on, "It's okay, though. Don't worry."

"But..." she trailed off, looking very serious. "Who looks after you when you're sick?"

"Oh, um. Well, adults can look after themselves," Bucky flubbed, "or, um. Friends are useful. Or room-mates."

"What do you do on Thanksgiving?" she asked. "And Christmas?"

"Uh... Well." Bucky's pulse quickened at the questions. "I'm either working or enjoying a day off."

"Are you with people?"

"Yeah, sometimes," Bucky said.

"Do you want to come to ours on Thanksgiving?" Laura asked. "I spend it with Dad, and I spend Christmas with Mom."

Bucky smiled wryly. "Yeah, sweetie. I know. He told me."

"So you could spend Thanksgiving with us?" she asked excitedly.

"It's a long way off," Bucky pointed out. "Let's see what happens, okay?"

"You mean you want Dad to ask you?" Laura said.

Wow, this kid, Bucky thought.

"Um," he said, stalling.

Then Laura gasped, like she'd just realised something. "Dad had those Christmas presents hidden in his drawer last year! Were they for you?"

"Um..." Bucky tried to remember. Logan _had_ given him a couple things. "Maybe?"

"It was you!" Laura bounced on the couch. "I found the presents and Dad had wrapped them so badly! And he wouldn't say who they were for!"

Bucky laughed. Yeah, he remembered the bad wrapping now. "Hey," he tried. "It's the thought that counts."

"Did you and Dad spend Christmas together last year?" Laura quizzed, leaning into Bucky.

"Um, yes."

Logan can't have told her. Bucky wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Laura, though, seemed thrilled at the news. She fell back on the couch and kicked her feet in the air. "I knew it!" she declared.

Bucky was busy fighting a blush. "Hey, you're missing the movie," he said, trying to distract her.

When his phone buzzed in his pocket, Bucky dug it out quick. "Oh, hey, it's your dad," he said, reading the message.

Laura sat bolt upright. "Is he coming back?"

"Yeah, he says he's on his way now," Bucky told her.

"Yay!" Laura cheered. "Can we tell him I did the washing up?"

Bucky smiled at her. "Sure we can."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~  
> Chapter warnings in full:
> 
> this is where we find out a little more about Bucky's time in group homes, and that his parents died a long time ago, and his biological sister was adopted but he wasn't.  
> Briefly mentioned, not graphic.
> 
> ~  
> ~
> 
> The LoganBucky fest starts posting this week! I'm so excited!
> 
> Please come follow [the blog](http://hellyeahloganbucky.tumblr.com) to see all the updates from everyone!  
> :D


	7. Daddy's Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Determined to finish this wip for 2018!! I really hope you like the story!
> 
> Super big thank you's to [NachoDiablo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoDiablo/pseuds/NachoDiablo/works?fandom_id=586439) for helping me! <3
> 
> ~

  
  


 

Logan got home and let himself into his apartment building with the code.

When he got up to his apartment door, he fished out his keys and looked for the right one until he remembered he'd given it to Bucky.

He knocked on his own door, and heard the pounding of little feet inside as Laura must've rushed to the door. Logan heard muffled voices that sounded like Bucky telling her to wait, then finally the door opened.

"Daddy!" Laura yelled in greeting.

Logan smiled and reached down to ruffle her hair. "Hey, squirt."

Bucky stood aside to let Logan in, giving him a smile. "Hey."

"Hey." Logan smiled back. He felt self conscious again in front of Laura, so he didn't lean in for a kiss. "So, uh... how's things?"

"Yeah, good." Bucky closed the door after him and gestured to the kitchen. "Want some pizza? I can reheat it."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Logan said. He was pretty hungry.

"And we have Jell-O!" Laura declared.

Logan raised an eyebrow.

"We made Jell-O," Bucky explained. "Why don't we all sit at the table?"

"Yay!" Laura cheered.

They headed into the kitchen, and Logan washed his hands at the sink. He lifted Laura up so she could do the same.

"I made the pizzas, Dad!" she said, as they dried their hands.

"I know, kiddo. I saw the photo."

"Oh, yeah. And I did the dishes!" she told him.

Logan sat her down at the table, and sat in the space next to her. "Oh, is that right?" He looked to Bucky, who was standing at the microwave reheating pizza.

"Yeah, she did."

Logan nodded, and looked back to Laura. "That's great, kid. I'm glad you helped Bucky."

Laura nodded back, clearly excited. "Uh huh! If I do the dishes, can I get a puppy?"

Logan blinked. "Huh?"

"A puppy!" Laura burst out.

"Yeah, I heard you." Logan glanced over at Bucky just in time to see him turn away and facepalm discreetly.

Logan smiled, and said to Laura, "You should ask your mom. She's got a yard, and I live in an apartment with no yard, remember? It's not fair to a dog."

"Oh, yeah," Laura said, visibly deflating.

They had talked about this before. Maybe she was all keyed up today because of visiting the zoo.

The microwave pinged, then Bucky was bringing over a plate of pizza slices for Logan. "You want a drink?" he asked.

"I'll have one later," Logan told him.

And, boy, could he use a beer.

"Okay." Bucky leaned in and tickled Laura's shoulder gently. "Ready for your Jell-O?"

"Yeah!" Laura beamed happily.

Bucky smiled back at her then went to fetch the Jell-O.

Logan was starving so he was paying more attention to his pizza than to Bucky puttering about his kitchen. When Bucky returned to the table he laid down a bowl of Jell-O and fruit for Laura, and also a small plate of salad for Logan.

Logan carried on chewing, but looked at Bucky for explanation. Bucky sat down with his own bowl of Jell-O, and gave Logan a pointed look.

"Eat your greens," he said.

"Yeah, Dad," Laura scoffed, in the middle of spooning fruit out of her bowl and onto a napkin.

"Laura, don't do that," Logan told her.

"I don't want fruit," she complained, and spooned the last of the fruit away before tucking into her Jell-O.

Logan shook his head. "Kids," he muttered.

"At least the Jell-O is fruit flavor," Bucky joked.

Logan smiled.

"Dad _never_ eats salad," Laura complained to Bucky.

Bucky's eyebrows flicked up in surprise. "Oh, really?"

Logan swallowed his mouthful and said, "Look, I can't eat salad, it's too acidic for my stomach."

Bucky threw him a wry smile. "But you're planning to have a beer later, right?"

"Yes. And?"

"There's acid in that too, Einstein."

"I know," Logan said with a grin. "I gotta prioritise acidic stuff."

"That's not fair," Laura said. "Dad makes me eat salad."

"Laura, when you're an adult," Logan told her, "you can eat what you want. But until then, you have to eat good things."

"Why don't you eat good things?" she retorted.

"Beer is good," he laughed. "It's not up for debate. Now finish your Jell-O, or I'll make you eat my salad."

Laura made a face, and hurriedly got back to her Jell-O.

"So," Logan asked, deciding to change the subject, "how was the rest of the zoo? Did you draw every single animal there?"

"Yes!" Laura dropped her spoon and hopped down from the table. She ran off, presumably to go find her book and show him her drawings.

Logan used the moment alone to look at Bucky and ask quietly, "All go okay?"

"Yeah." Bucky smiled back. "Really good."

  
  


~

  
  


"Laura," Logan said, "it's Sunday night and you've got school tomorrow."

"Can't I watch some more––"

"No, it's bath time."

Laura pouted.

"Bath or shower?" Logan asked, gesturing for her to get up from the couch. "Say goodnight to Bucky and come get ready for bed."

Laura pouted and grumbled, but she'd already started yawning so Logan wanted to get her into bed now.

"Night, Laura," Bucky said, as she leaned into him for a quick hug.

"Night, Bucky."

"Be good for your dad, okay?" he told her quietly, like he was sharing a secret.

Laura nodded, and finally extracted herself from the couch.

Logan lifted her up and sat her on his hip. "How about a shower? You think you can wash your hair by yourself?"

She nodded. "Will you start it for me?"

"Yep."

He took her in the bathroom and helped her get undressed, putting her clothes in the hamper for laundry. He started the shower and adjusted the nozzle, helping her into the cubicle.

"Just shout if you want me," he said, then left her to it and went to get her bedroom ready.

He'd give her a few minutes, but she was usually pretty quick with showers.

  
  


When Laura was all washed and dried, and in clean pyjamas, she trotted into the bedroom. Logan had the night light on, and tucked her into bed with her plushies.

"Will you read me a story, Dad?"

Logan wasn't keen on stories, because he felt silly reading them aloud, but Laura loved them.

"Which one do you want?" he asked, sitting on the chair and flicking through the pile of bedtime books.

"That one!" Laura said, picking out a very long and repetitive book.

Logan sighed inwardly, but opened up the chosen story. He cleared his throat. "The tiger and the unicorn," he started out, "were the very best of friends."

He'd only gotten through two pages when Laura butted in. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Who looks after you when you're sick?" she asked.

"I hardly ever get sick, Laura," he reminded her.

"But if you were sick, who would look after you?"

"Oh," Logan said more gently. "Well, Daddy can take care of himself, or adults call doctors and they take care of us."

Sort of, he thought, but he didn't want to have to explain what insurance was to an eight year old.

Laura had a thoughtful frown in place, and said, "You could ask Bucky, Dad. And you could look after him too."

"Uh, yeah," Logan agreed, not really sure where this was coming from.

"Bucky doesn't have a mommy or daddy," Laura said in a small voice.

"Well, adults don't really need moms and dads, kid."

"But if he gets sick," Laura insisted, "you have to look after him, Dad. He doesn't have anybody."

"Oh, I see."

Logan wasn't sure if this was true, but he didn't want Laura to be worried.

"Sure, kid. I will. Don't worry about it, okay? Kids don't worry about adults, that's the rules."

She nodded. "Bucky's really nice."

Logan smiled fondly. "I know."

"He can have Thanksgiving with us," she went on. "You should ask him."

"We'll talk about it," Logan promised. "Daddy will take care of it. Now, do you want the rest of this story, or not?"

"Yes!"

  
  


Logan left a sleepy Laura in her room, pulling the door closed. He headed to the kitchen first and got himself a bottle of beer.

It was definitely beer o'clock.

He took his beer through to the lounge, where Bucky was still on the couch.

"You want a beer?" he offered.

Bucky turned a smile to him. "I'm good with water."

"Just me, then." Logan flopped down on the couch and drank a long pull of beer. He exhaled loudly when he was done. "Man, what a day."

Bucky was quiet a moment, then untucked his feet from under him to sit up. "Do you want me to head out?"

"What? No?" Logan looked at him. "Why, are you busy tomorrow?"

The club was shut Mondays, but he didn't know what Bucky was doing.

"No, I'm free," Bucky said.

"Well, uh..." Logan fiddled with his beer. "Why don't you stay the night?"

"Yeah?" Bucky sounded surprised. "What about...?"

"She'll be fast asleep," Logan assured him. "She's had a long day, too."

Bucky nodded, and relaxed back into the couch. "She was so well behaved."

"Yeah, she's a good kid." He turned to Bucky and had to ask. "Did she talk about being sick, or something?"

"Oh, God." Bucky facepalmed. "She asked me a million things. She wanted to know who I lived with, and what do I do when I'm sick. Stuff like that."

"Hm." Logan nodded, raising his beer for another sip.

"Heads up," Bucky added, "she said she Googled your club and read that it's an adult club."

Logan nearly spluttered beer down his chin. "What the fuck?"

"I know." Bucky winced. "I didn't know what to say, Logan. She said she wants to watch wrestling, as she seems to think it's a wrestling club. But she did ask about naked people."

"Naked people," Logan repeated. "Shit. Well, she can't have found this on my laptop, I have Google on parental lock."

"Maybe it was at school or a friend's house," Bucky said. "I told her, yeah, it's wrestling, but she had a lot of questions, not gonna lie."

Logan set his beer down on the coffee table. "I'll have to talk to her mother."

"Good luck," Bucky said with a grin. "So... I take it you haven't told her that I... you know, dance?"

An image of Bucky on the stripper pole bathed in club lights and wearing skimpy little booty shorts flitted through Logan's mind.

He grinned. "I haven't, no. But it's no big deal."

"Have you..." Bucky looked down shyly. "Have you told her mom? Because Laura said some stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Like, aside from how you like having naked people around? She said that her mom said that you like younger models."

Logan snorted. "If that's true, then she's one to talk. She's younger than me, too."

"So I heard," Bucky said.

Logan sighed. "Man. I didn't know Maria had been talking to Laura about this, or maybe Laura overheard her talking. I'll sort it out, I'll talk to Maria."

"I take it she's your ex?"

"Maria? Yeah."

"Have you told her about me?" Bucky asked.

"Not really," Logan admitted. "She's so nosy, but she does know Kitty from the club, so maybe Maria plied her for information. I don't know."

"Didn't want her knowing I'm a stripper?"

"What?" Logan frowned in confusion. "It's not that, no. Maria was a stripper too. That's how we met."

Bucky looked surprised at that. "Oh," he said softly.

"It's not about the job at all," Logan assured him, "but Laura doesn't know about Maria's work history, or mine. We figured we'd explain it to her when she's older."

"Think she beat you guys to the punch," Bucky pointed out.

"Yeah." Logan laughed. "I'll deal with it when Maria's back. It's not the end of the world."

Bucky was quiet, then said hesitantly, "I thought... you know, maybe you were embarrassed of me, of my job."

"No way." Logan reached out, took his hand and held it. "I've been in the business a long time, and I'd never be embarrassed that a gorgeous guy like you wants to be with me. But, uh, this is my first and only kid, and I haven't exactly figured out when's the best time to talk to her about these things."

"She's a smart kid," Bucky said.

"She is, and I don't think she'd even care," Logan mused, "but I don't want her to feel different from her friends, or, I don't know. I'll have to figure it out. Sometimes I wish I had a normal job."

"Fit in with the normies?" Bucky teased, sliding closer.

Logan chuckled. "No, I guess not."

"So," Bucky said, pressing himself against Logan, "sounds like you have a type."

"A type?"

"Yeah. You like strippers."

Logan had to grin. " _You're_ my type. C'mere."

He pulled Bucky in close and was about to kiss him when he heard a little voice say, "Daddy?"

He froze, and turned around slowly, as did Bucky.

Laura was by the couch, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Yes, Laura?" Logan said, as he and Bucky tried to subtly move apart.

"You didn't give me any water."

"Oh," he said, and made to get up. "Sorry, kiddo. Let's go get you some." He picked her up and held her on his hip. "C'mon."

"Tsk, Daddy," Bucky said teasingly.

Logan paused to give him a mock-warning look before he carried Laura off to the kitchen.

"What did I tell you," Logan said quietly, "about sneaking in on grown ups?"

Laura giggled a little. "But I wanted to see if you were okay."

"We're fine, squirt," he promised. "We're fine."

 

 

 


	8. New Beginnings

 

 

Laura was fast asleep when her alarm went off, then her dad came in and pulled back the drapes to let the light in.

"Up and at 'em," he said loudly, as Laura tried to hide under her duvet. "C'mon." He yanked back the covers and ruffled her hair. "Bathroom. Then kitchen."

Laura yawned but she got up. She went to use the bathroom first, then padded into the kitchen in her pyjamas and bare feet.

It was just her dad in there, making toast and eggs.

Laura looked around. "Where's Bucky? Did he go home?"

"He's asleep," her dad replied, poking the eggs in the pan.

Laura gasped. "He's still here?"

Her dad turned a smile to her. "Yes. Now come sit––"

"Can I go see him!" Laura asked, excited.

"No," her dad said, and came over to steer her into a chair. "He's sleeping."

"When can I see him?"

"I don't know, kid. Later." He quickly plated up toast, eggs, and shoved them under Laura's nose. "Eat your breakfast."

Laura smiled happily, and picked up her fork. "Will Bucky be here when I come home from school?"

"Um, I don't know." Her dad sat down with his own plate next to her. Laura pleaded at him with her eyes until he relented. "I'll ask him, okay?"

"Yay!" Laura cheered.

  
  


~

  
  


Logan drove home after dropping Laura at school, and let himself into his apartment.

No signs of life yet. Hopefully Bucky was still in bed.

Logan took off his jacket, boots, and headed to the bedroom. The drapes were still drawn, and there was a large, person-shaped lump in the bed. Logan smiled, and started pulling off his clothes, tossing them on the chair.

He placed his phone on the nightstand, because he always needed it within reach for Laura's school or the club, but that was closed today so he didn't expect any interruptions.

Logan slipped into the bed, slotting himself up against Bucky's warm body. He lay on his side spooning Bucky, and wrapped an arm around him. Bucky barely stirred, but he was a heavy sleeper.

Logan didn't mind waiting.

He bent his arm under the pillow to get comfortable, and brought his other hand up to brush some of Bucky's long hair off the back of his neck. Logan pressed a kiss there, then closed his eyes to settle down to sleep.

Bucky stirred some time later, only to turn around and snuggle into Logan's chest. Bucky had a habit of sleeping curled up like that, so Logan kept his arm around Bucky and they both dozed.

A text beeped on Logan's phone, and with a grunt he extracted himself to roll over and check it.

Nothing important, which was always a relief.

Logan left his phone on the nightstand and rolled back into place. Bucky's eyes were open, and he blinked sleepily at him.

"Hey," Logan murmured, scooting up close.

They were both hot and a little sweat damp, and their erections bumped together.

"Hey, yourself." Bucky smiled at him and pressed in closer, pushing his hips at Logan's. "Is, um, is she at school?"

"Yeah," Logan said, reaching out and hooking his fingers in the waistband of Bucky's underwear. "It's just us."

Bucky hmmed in reply, and pulled Logan in for a kiss. Logan rolled over, half on top of Bucky as they kissed slowly. Bucky's hands hung onto Logan's shoulders, then moved around his collarbone and onto his front to tug on his chest hair.

"Mmm," Logan rumbled, breaking the kiss. "Tell me what you want?"

"You," Bucky said breathily, clinging on and grinding his hips up. "Just like this."

"Yeah?" Logan adjusted his position, arms taking his weight as he laid on top of Bucky and started thrusting slowly. Their hard cocks rubbed together, with extra friction from the underwear they had on. Logan knew Bucky had a kink for grinding, and he drew it out slow, enjoying the feeling.

Bucky gasped and writhed under him, clinging on desperately. Logan dipped his head and sucked on Bucky's neck, making him moan.

"Mmm, more," Bucky pleaded, holding on and rolling his hips into Logan's. Logan huffed in pleasure, and picked up the pace. He caged Bucky in with his arms, thrusting faster. Bucky made some amazing sounds, head thrown back on the pillow and lips parted.

"Ah, I-I'm close," he stuttered.

"You gonna come for me, baby?" Logan husked, grinding down hard.

"Ah," Bucky gasped, "yes! Yes, oh!"

Logan felt him tense up, then shudder under him as he came, gasping and crying out softly.

"That's it, baby," Logan murmured, feeling his own pleasure start to crest. "Lemme hear you."

Bucky gasped loudly, holding on tighter. "Oh, fuck," he moaned.

Logan moaned too as he started to come, his orgasm surprising him with its intensity. "Ah," he gasped, bracing himself as his hips stuttered. "Fuck, yeah."

They lay there together breathing raggedly, coming down from it. Logan bent his head to Bucky's shoulder, and Bucky wrapped his arms around Logan's back, sighing in contentment.

"Missed you," he said quietly.

That caught Logan off guard, and he wasn't sure what to say. He was still kind of getting used to the fact that Bucky wasn't fed up with him by now.

"Yeah?" he murmured, rolling to the side. Bucky rolled with him, and they cuddled up together. "What d'you miss? My snoring?"

Bucky laughed softly against him. "No one would miss that, Logan."

Logan smiled, and pressed a kiss to the side of Bucky's head. Bucky went quiet, but Logan felt him sigh lightly. He thought Bucky would say more, but he didn't, and the moment stretched on.

He wished he knew what Bucky was thinking.

"Um," he started, shuffling back a little so he could see Bucky, "so... was yesterday okay?"

Bucky used his arm to prop his head up on the pillow, and frowned mildly. "What do you mean?"

"Hanging out with a kid?" Logan shrugged.

"Well, she's not a kid, is she," Bucky said wryly, "she's _your_ kid, so there's a difference."

"Oh."

"Yeah, it was nice," Bucky said. "I liked seeing you two together. It's different than I thought."

"Different? Is that good or bad?"

"I guess... I don't think I expected her to be so bright, you know? She's real smart, and funny."

Logan was reminded about Laura and Google, and he hummed thoughtfully. "Yes," he said, and sat up against the headboard. "Too smart for her own good."

Bucky laughed lightly. "Guess she doesn't get that from you?"

Logan smirked in reply, and reached under the duvet to tickle Bucky's ribs, making him laugh and scoot away.

It was nice, having Bucky here.

Logan glanced at the clock on his nightstand, and though he knew he would have to leave in around two hours to go pick Laura up, he felt relaxed.

"You wanna stick around?" he asked, unsure if Bucky would say yes. "You could have dinner with us?"

Bucky went quiet, blinking like he was surprised. "Yeah? With Laura?"

"She asked when she'd see you."

"Aw." Bucky smiled happily. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Alright, then." Logan smiled back. "Wanna fool around some more?"

"Hell yeah."

  
  


~

  
  


Laura had been watching the clock all day, eager for it to be home time.

When the bell rang and she got her coat and bag on, she skipped out the door with her friends to go look for their parents.

All the other kids were filing out of the school gates, with all of the parents and guardians hanging around outside, all so much taller than the kids and chatting as they waited.

Laura looked around at the spot near the gate that her dad usually waited, and stopped in surprise when she saw who was with him.

"Bucky!" she yelled, and ran over to them.

Bucky was next to her dad, and he grinned when he saw her.

"Hey, Laura!" he greeted, bending down as Laura flung herself at him for a hug.

"You came to pick me up!" she said.

"Apparently I'm a nobody now," her dad muttered, but when Laura looked up at him he was doing that half smile that meant he was joking.

"Hi, Dad!" she said excitedly, and reached for his hand. "What's for dinner?"

"Something healthy," Logan said, holding onto her hand.

Laura threw her head back to groan, but she didn't really mind. "What about fajitas? I like fajitas!"

"Maybe," he said, and started to lead the way out. "C'mon, let's get going so we can beat the traffic.

Bucky walked with them, and Laura held a hand out for him too. She was thrilled when he took her hand, and now she had the perfect opportunity to jump up in the air.

"Daddy, Bucky, lift me up!" she pleaded.

"Just once," her dad said, "it's too busy for gymnastics on the street, Laura."

"Okay, just once!" she agreed, and got ready to jump.

"On three?" Bucky said, and Laura nodded.

"One, two, three," he said, as he and Logan lifted her up. Laura jumped with it, kicking her legs high and squealing in delight.

"Yay!" she called.

  
  


~

  
  


"How about a gecko?" Bucky said.

Logan frowned. "As a pet?"

"Yeah, they're easy to keep." Bucky tapped on his phone then brought up a page of gecko pictures on Instagram. "See how cute they are?"

Logan grunted quietly.

Laura had been dropping hints over dinner about getting a pet, and now that she was tucked up in bed for the night, Bucky seemed to be on her side about convincing Logan to get her one.

"You can keep them in a tank," Bucky said, flicking through the pictures. He leaned in closer, pressing into Logan like he was trying to distract him.

"What do they eat?" Logan asked.

"Uh, well, some veggies, also mealworms or crickets."

"No," Logan said flatly. "I'm not keeping bugs in my apartment. No geckos."

"Okay..." Bucky tapped on his phone again, searching through Instagram. "What about something in water? Axolotls are cute."

"Axa-what?" Logan peered over to look at Bucky's phone. Bucky flicked through some images then showed him some photos of what looked like a pale pink cock with eyes and legs.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "The fuck is that?"

"They're salamanders," Bucky told him, suppressing a laugh.

"Looks like a penis," Logan muttered, making Bucky snort.

"They don't look like a penis, Logan. Jeez."

"Yes, it does," he argued. "The head is all..." He shuddered. "No. Nothing in tanks, I don't want to clean it all the time because it'll be me who does it."

"You could show Laura how to clean tanks," Bucky countered. "It's not that hard."

"Yeah, yeah." Logan rolled his eyes. "Eight year old's attention spans aren't long. She'll get bored and I'll be stuck cleaning the damn thing. Like that goldfish I got her a couple years back."

"To be fair," Bucky said, "she really wants a dog."

"Life is full of disappointments," Logan said, unconcerned.

He wasn't having a dog either. He liked his apartment as it was: clean.

"Hamster?" Bucky suggested.

"No," Logan said. "They make noise at night. She brought the school hamster home for a weekend once over the holidays, it never shut up."

"They're nocturnal," Bucky said. "I'm running out of things to suggest here, Logan."

Logan smiled to himself. That was the plan.

"How about a cat?" Bucky said. "They can be indoors, you don't have to walk them, and they're great company."

Logan grumbled. "Aren't they messy?"

"Not if you have a clean litter box."

"Hnf," Logan huffed.

He'd had a cat when he was a kid, briefly. He did like cats.

"I'll think about it," he said. "I still think she's a bit young for pets."

"If you get an older cat, they sleep more," Bucky pointed out. "Even if Laura doesn't play with it, the cat'll just sleep."

"Yeah, on beds," Logan chuckled. "Leaving hair everywhere."

"Hairless cats exist."

Logan pulled a face, and went back to staring at the T.V.

"I'll think about it."

Bucky put his phone away and pulled his feet up as he settled into the couch. "I'd help you look after it, if you want?" he said, sitting sideways so he faced Logan. "Just... well, you know I said my roommate is raising the rent?

"Yeah?"

"So, I can't afford it," Bucky went on, "unless I go work somewhere else, or move somewhere cheaper. Either way, it won't be that close to your place..." He finished with a shrug, fiddling with the comforter on the back of the couch. "I'm not trying to push you, I'm just saying."

Logan digested that, and while he'd known about Bucky's roommate increasing the rent, he hadn't known Bucky was planning to go work somewhere else.

"Do you want to work somewhere else?" Logan asked, because he needed to know.

Bucky shook his head. "No, I like your club. I have friends there, and you."

"What if I pay you more?" Logan offered, but Bucky shook his head.

"That wouldn't go down well if anyone else found out. I wouldn't feel happy about it either."

"Yeah, okay," Logan muttered, as the one obvious solution loomed over him. "So... do you want to live here?"

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Bucky asked quietly.

Logan realised he didn't even need to think about his answer.

"Yeah, it is. Besides," he shrugged, "you get fed up with my snoring, you can always find somewhere else."

Bucky laughed. "Are you sure, Logan? I feel like I'm maybe pushing you into this."

"Maybe I needed the push," Logan replied, and turned to face Bucky. He tucked a lock of Bucky's hair behind his ear, tracing his fingers along Bucky's jawline. "I don't want you to move further away," Logan said. "What I want is to wake up next to you every morning. If that's what you want?"

Bucky smiled, and reached up to place his hand over Logan's. "Yeah, that's what I want."

Logan smiled too, and leaned in so he could kiss his man. "Then let's give it a try," he said between kisses.

  
  
  
  
  


 

 

**Author's Note:**

> ~
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story! 
> 
> Rebloggable post for this fic [on tumblr](https://hellyeahloganbucky.tumblr.com/post/181720956688/the-boyfriend-trap-by-roe87-rating).
> 
> And if you didn't see the link already, I wrote a prequel for this fic titled [Dirty Sexy Mine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16791463) for LoganBucky fest, and it's just smut. Please take a look :p 
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](http://jro616.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/jro616)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dirty, Sexy, Mine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16791463) by [roe87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/pseuds/roe87)




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